October 2024 Newsletter | Cylchlythyr Misol Hydref 2024
- Individuals who do not file self-assessment tax returns have started to receive 'simple tax assessments' from HMRC for the 2023-2024 tax year. These assessments include your employment or pension income, as well as interest income on bank savings.
Approximately 140,000 pensioners whose only income is the State Pension will also receive a simple assessment because the State Pension is now more than the tax-free personal allowance of £12,570.
Please check the figures in these assessments very carefully, particularly the bank interest amounts, as errors are often found in these calculations.
- Do you have a student loan, where amounts are deducted from your monthly wages on your payslip? You may have overpaid your student loan in previous tax years. Potential reasons include, your employer putting you on the incorrect student loan plan, or deductions being taken despite your annual income being lower than the repayment threshold (this typically happens when wages vary significantly month-on-month).
To check whether your student loan deductions are correct, contact The Student Loans Company - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/student-loans-company
- There was a very sad article in the press in the last month or so, where a man whose wife had passed away could not recover photos from her phone in time for her funeral, including photos from their wedding day.
When someone passes away, there is a considerable amount of financial and non-financial administration. You may wish to keep a list of your log-in and passwords to your email, phone storage, etc. in a secure place for your family members.
- From 7 October 2024, new rules were published to give customers stronger protection against Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams. APP scams occur when someone is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as a genuine person or company.
Under the new regulation, a payment made via online banking as part of a scam could be repaid. Currently, the limit for repayment is £85,000 and you must have reported your claim within 13 months of the final payment being made to a fraudster.
Ask Huw and Aled
Q: I help with a small charity which requires access to funds for projects. Do I have to apply to each individual organisation or are there websites which provide directories?
A: Anyone involved with charities will be familiar with the problems of fundraising and grant applications. There are sometimes governing bodies who may be able to help your particular type of organisation. Two websites that could provide details of a number of grant providers are “Community Foundation Wales” and “Funding Wales”. Whilst they do not include details of all charities and foundations, they may provide some useful contacts. Good luck with the fundraising!
