Postmasters’ bankruptcies reviewed

The recent Court of Appeal and Crown Court decisions to quash the convictions of many former postmasters was widely welcomed. The Courts found that the original convictions were based on evidence from the Post Office’s Horizon IT system which has now been found to be unreliable.

These cases caused an enormous miscarriage of justice affecting postmasters across the UK. The impact of this debacle resulted in many postmasters losing their jobs, going bankrupt and in some cases being sent to prison or taking their own lives. 

A new press release from the Insolvency Service is seeking information from postmasters who believe they may have been made bankrupt due to the Horizon IT system. This relates to cases where postmasters were made bankrupt by the Post Office Limited and also where postmasters may have petitioned for their own bankruptcy or made a bankruptcy application to Office of the Adjudicator.

The Official Receiver, acting as the Trustee/Trustee ex-officio in bankruptcy, is now undertaking enquiries to identify these cases and investigate whether these bankruptcy orders should be reviewed. Anyone affected by the Horizon discrepancies are being asked to contact the Insolvency Service in the first instance.

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Breaking even – checking the numbers

In previous newsfeeds we have described how you can calculate the level of turnover you need to create in order to meet all your costs whether they be fixed costs (rent, rates etc.,) or variable costs (goods you need to buy to convert into goods you sell).

For example, if your fixed costs are £50,000 per annum and your variable costs are 25% of your turnover, the annual turnover you need to breakeven will be £200,000. The formula is:

Annual fixed costs divided by 25 (the gross profit)

Bereavement Support Payment

The amount of Bereavement Support Payment you can claim will depend on your relationship to the person who died and when you make your claim.

Your payments will be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.

If you were married or in a registered civil partnership with the person who died

If you were receiving Child Benefit when your partner died (or did not get it but were entitled to it), you will get the higher rate.

This is made up of:

a first payment of £3,500;

Tax codes for employees

The P9X form is used to notify employers of the tax codes to use for employees. The latest version of the form has been published and shows the tax codes to use from 6 April 2023. The form states that the basic personal allowance for the tax year starting 6 April 2023 will, as expected, be £12,570 (£12,570 in 2022-23) and this means that the tax code for emergency use will remain at 1257L.

The basic rate limit will be £37,700 (£37,700 in 2022-23) except for those defined as Scottish taxpayers

Properties not let at commercial rates

There are special rules where a property is let at less than a commercial rate or isn’t let on commercial terms. These rules also apply if a property is occupied rent free or at less than a commercial rate, for example, a property is occupied by a family member at a reduced or nil rent.

In these circumstances, HMRC can take the view that unless the landlord charges a full market rent for a property and imposes normal market lease conditions, it is unlikely that the expenses of the property are

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