Summing Up - The official podcast from Lovewell Blake Chartered Accountants and Financial Planners!

James Shipp and Michael Morter share their Budget 2026 predictions: the taxes ruled out, where the chancellor could look instead, and what to do before Budget day.

A new Prime Minister, a new chancellor and very few leaks. In this episode of Summing Up, James Shipp talks to Michael Morter about what could change in the Budget and what to do before it.

 They start with the four taxes ruled out in the Labour manifesto: corporation tax, income tax, VAT and employees' National Insurance. Those are the biggest earners for the Treasury, so Michael expects another Budget that works at the fringes. Capital gains tax looks like the likeliest target. The main rate is 24% and Michael says he would not be shocked by 28%, but calls that a guess.

 They cover the phased changes to business asset disposal relief, why outside investment matters for businesses trying to scale up, and the effect of the employers' National Insurance rise on jobs. James is seeing higher overheads and lower staff numbers in the first full year since the change.

 Still to come in are inheritance tax on pensions from next April, the council tax surcharge on homes over £2 million from April 2028, and changes to company car tax and electric vehicle charges.

 Michael's top tip: if you were going to do something anyway, go ahead and do it, but do not panic. They also cover the pension lump sum rumour, a possible property tax to replace stamp duty, and what John Healey's surprise announcement might be.

 The episode closes with three quick fire questions from subscribers on Making Tax Digital, landlords and the £100,000 cliff edge.

 Join us at our budget breakfasts the day after the Budget, in Norwich on Thursday 29 October and Bury St Edmunds on Friday 30 October. Reserve your place on our website.

You can find this episode and our full Summing Up playlist on our website: https://www.lovewell-blake.co.uk/podcasts

Host: James Shipp, Lovewell Blake

Guest: Michael Morter, Tax Director, Lovewell Blake

Inheritance tax used to be a concern for the wealthy. Frozen allowances and a run of rule changes mean it now reaches ordinary families, farmers and business owners, and from April 2027 unused pensions come into scope too.

In this episode of Summing Up, James Shipp is joined by our tax director Michael Morter to explain the inheritance tax gifting rules and what has changed.

We cover:

The three big changes since the October 2024 budget and when each takes effect.

The three types of lifetime gift: exempt transfers, immediately chargeable transfers and potentially exempt transfers.

How the seven year clock works in practice, and why taper relief only helps once you have given away more than your nil rate band.

The two mistakes that catch people out: capital gains tax on gifts of anything other than cash, and keeping a benefit in something you have given away.

What farmers and business owners can still do after the April 2026 changes to agricultural and business property relief.

Why unused pensions being added to the estate can taper away the residence nil rate band and increase the tax on other assets.

Who can safely leave inheritance tax alone, who needs advice, and the one message to take away on gifting.

This is the first of a short series with Michael. Follow Summing Up for the next episodes on pensions and trusts.

Full episode and every other episode: https://www.lovewell-blake.co.uk/podcasts

Hosted by James Shipp. Guest: Michael Morter, Tax Director, Lovewell Blake.

#InheritanceTax #EstatePlanning #Pensions

From 2028, small companies will be required to file profit and loss accounts online with Companies House for the first time. But will those accounts be made public? In this episode, we break down the upcoming Companies House reforms, explain the new filing requirements for small businesses, and explore the confusion surrounding the apparent concession that may allow companies to withhold profit and loss information from public view. Essential listening for company directors, accountants and business owners preparing for the UK's biggest corporate reporting changes.

#CompaniesHouse #SmallBusinessUK #Accountancy #CompaniesHouseReform #SmallCompanies #CompanyAccounts #Podcast #AccountancyPodcast #LB1858 

Accurate bookkeeping is more than just recording transactions. It's the foundation of informed business decisions, healthy cash flow, and long-term growth. In this episode, we explore the importance of financial record keeping, how bookkeeping supports business performance, and the key financial information every business owner should understand. Whether you're a start-up, small business owner, or finance professional, you'll discover practical tips to improve your financial management and keep your records organised and compliant.

#Bookkeeping #BusinessFinance #Accounting #FinancialRecords #CashflowManagement #FinancialManagement #TaxPreparation #FinancePodcast #Podcast #BusinessSuccess #ProfitAndLoss 

Are you prepared for the inheritance tax changes that took effect from April 2026? This episode focuses on the new rules affecting family farms and privately owned businesses. We explain what has changed, who could be impacted, and the practical planning strategies available to help families preserve their assets and create a smooth succession plan for the next generation.

#InheritanceTax #BusinessOwners #WealthPlanning #FarmingUK #UKFarming #AgriculturalPropertyRelief #InheritanceTax2026 #FamilyFarmTax #FamilyFarm #SuccessionPlanning #LB1858

Payroll is becoming increasingly complex for UK businesses. With evolving HMRC regulations, growing compliance obligations, and the pressure to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time, managing payroll in-house can be both challenging and time-consuming.

In this episode, we explore the biggest payroll challenges facing employers today, the impact of ongoing HMRC changes, and why many businesses are turning to payroll outsourcing to reduce risk, improve efficiency, and stay compliant.

Tune in to discover how outsourced payroll services can help your business navigate regulatory change with confidence.

#PayrollOutsourcing #PayrollServices #HMRC #PayrollCompliance #BusinessSupport #SME #OutsourcedPayroll #ukbusinesses  #HR #Finance #BusinessGrowth #TaxCompliance #PayrollManagement #LB1858

Join James Shipp and financial adviser Jon Matchett as they discuss the key aspects of retirement planning, from workplace pensions and retirement income options to tax-efficient withdrawals and state pension considerations. They explore how to make the most of your savings, manage investment risk as retirement approaches, and avoid common pitfalls, while also touching on inheritance tax and the role of ISAs and other investments in a well-rounded retirement strategy.

#podcast #financialplanning #retirement #retirementplanning #finance #pension

Family protection: who pays the bills if you cannot work?

Will Gaines, of Lovewell Blake Financial Planning on family protection: life cover, critical illness, income protection and what a family needs.

Most people would rather not think about what happens to the household if the main earner dies or cannot work. In this episode of Summing Up, host James Shipp brings [Guest name] of Lovewell Blake Financial Planning back on the podcast, after an earlier episode on workplace pensions, to walk through family protection: the policies that replace lost income when the worst happens, and how to work out which ones a family actually needs.

Along the way they cover:

• Why covering the mortgage comes first, and how many of the people the team speaks to have no protection on it at all
• Basic life insurance against family income benefit, an often overlooked policy that pays out year by year for as long as the children need support, rather than a lump sum that inflation can erode
• Critical illness cover, which pays on the diagnosis of a serious illness, and income protection, which replaces earnings for the self employed and anyone without sick pay to fall back on
• The surgeon who hurt his hand in a cycling accident, and why cover has to be built around the job you do rather than a standard template
• How the deferral period before an income protection policy pays out changes the premium, and why a longer wait only works with a rainy day fund behind it
• Relevant life policies, which let a company pay the premiums without creating a benefit in kind, and what goes wrong when they are set up badly

There is no one size fits all answer. The starting point is not the product but the situation: who earns what, what the household depends on and where the pinch points are, and then building the cover to fit.

Will's advice: have an honest conversation about what you actually need, check the cover would last long enough, keep a buffer to get through any deferral period, and take advice before putting premiums through the business.

Lovewell Blake Financial Planning is independent and whole of market. Contact details are on the Lovewell Blake website.

Hear more episodes of Summing Up at

https://www.lovewell-blake.co.uk/podcasts

D. CHAPTER MARKERS
Unmarked times are transcript block boundaries. Entries marked est. are placed by word position inside a long block and should be checked against the waveform before publishing.
00:00:00 Cold open
00:00:19 From workplace pensions to family protection
00:01:39 est. Death of a key earner: mortgage protection and life insurance
00:03:08 Family income benefit, the policy most people overlook
00:04:21 Critical illness cover
00:05:06 Income protection, the self employed and the surgeon example
00:08:01 Deferral periods, premiums and the rainy day fund
00:11:31 est. Start with your situation, not the product
00:12:44 est. Paying premiums through the business: relevant life policies

Host: James Shipp, Partner 

Guest: Will Gaines, Financial Planner, Lovewell Blake Financial Planning

Dom Smith of Lovewell Blake explains the squad cost ratio replacing PSR in the Premier League, and what the new rules mean for how clubs can spend.

Football finance went down well when Summing Up first covered it, and the rules have changed again since. Host James Shipp brings back Dom Smith, a manager in Lovewell Blake’s Norwich office who writes about football finance on LinkedIn, to explain why profit and sustainability rules are giving way to a squad cost ratio, and why the vote to bring it in was as tight as Premier League votes get.

Along the way they cover:

• What counts as revenue and what counts as squad cost, and why selling a stadium or a women’s team no longer helps
• Why Chelsea’s long contracts were always a short term ploy, and what happens to the academy player sales clubs relied on under PSR
• Why the Premier League wanted a rule it could police within a season, and what Leicester’s points deduction shows about the old one
• Which clubs voted against the change and what they have in common
• Why qualifying for Europe can leave a club with less to spend than the teams below it
• The green and red thresholds, the fine for going over, and why simply paying it is not a strategy
• Who is best placed, from the big six to Brighton, Brentford and Tottenham’s stadium, and why an NFL style salary cap could never work here

Dom’s view: the new rules are probably better than PSR because they focus on the one cost that makes clubs unsustainable, the playing squad, and leave far fewer loopholes. They will not make the league more competitive, and many will see them as helping the bigger clubs stay bigger, but he does not pretend to have a better answer.

Earlier in the series: Football finance explained by accountants, how clubs spend big. Hear more episodes of Summing Up at

https://www.lovewell-blake.co.uk/podcasts

Chapter markers

• 00:00:00 Cold open
• 00:00:22 Back on football finance: PSR gives way to SCR
• 00:01:28 What a squad cost ratio measures and the loopholes it closes
• 00:06:50 Chelsea’s long contracts and selling academy players
• 00:09:20 Why the Premier League switched, and the clubs that voted against it
• 00:14:23 est. UEFA’s lower cap and the Conference League trap
• 00:18:41 est. Green and red thresholds, and why not just pay the fine
• 00:24:18 est. Promotion, relegation and a Championship still on PSR
• 00:27:53 est. Who is best placed, the NFL comparison and Dom’s verdict

From April 2027 all Benefits in Kind provided by employers to their Directors or staff will be taxed very differently. James is joined by payroll specialist Jordan Guymer to consider the upcoming changes to the way Benefits are reported and what employers need to do ahead of time to be fully compliant by April 2027.

#BIK #Payroll #BenefitsInKind #Reporting #Accountancy #Podcast #LB1858