In this month’s VAT updates, Graham Elliott considers costs of staging productions and taxable supplies of catering in the Royal Opera House case, historical VAT claim at NHS Lothian and refurbishing an empty dwelling

HMRC has won a landmark case at an Upper Tax Tribunal, which has ruled that tax relief cannot be claimed on ‘in-specie’ or non-cash contributions to personal pensions, potentially opening the way for the tax authority to reclaim millions

In this edition of VAT updates, Graham Elliott considers HMRC’s VAT easements, a suppression of sales case and the challenging concept of fiscal neutrality

 HMRC has won an Upper Tribunal appeal over a bid by the Royal Opera House to include ice cream and champagne sales at the venue when recovering VAT input tax associated with its production costs

HMRC announced on Wednesday 15 April that the eligibility cut-off date for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is now 19 March 2020 (originally this date was 28 February 2020). Here our Croner Taxwise experts explain the intricacies of the furlough scheme

The government has sent personalised emails to an estimated two million eligible employers who operate PAYE systems with final details about how the furlough claim scheme will work and what employer reference codes will be required, with a step by step guide to how to use the furlough claim portal. Sara White reports

HMRC has issued detailed guidance in updated VAT Notice 700/22 setting out the process for deferring VAT filings by three months under Making Tax Digital

Accountants put on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be able to continue their training to achieve professional qualifications and may be able to take on a second job depending on any restrictions in their employment contract, reports Sara White

Second home owners and buy-to-let investors face significant tax changes from the new 2020-21 tax year on 6 April with the 30-day CGT payment window and end of mortgage interest rate relief, in the works since first announced at Summer Budget 2015, reports Sara White

The Coronavirus Act 2020 allows the Treasury to extend HMRC’s powers - described as 'functions' - as and when required while the Act is in force, with little indication of any control measures, reports Sara White

HMRC has updated its technical note on the changes to the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs’ relief, which has been cut to £1m, detailing an additional anti-forestalling rule

A taxpayer who claimed self employment expenses of £120,000 against income of £5,000 has lost a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) appeal against HMRC’s refusal to allow the deductions