Basis period reform – practicalities and pitfalls

With tax year 2023-24 now in full swing major changes to the income tax basis period rules are starting to take effect.

My previous Taxation articles ‘Shaking the foundations’ (2 December 2021) and ‘Complicated transition’ (5 May 2022) set out an overview of these changes and an exploration of the more technical aspects. This article focuses on practicalities and pitfalls that taxpayers and their advisers need to be aware of together with updates on some of the areas previously covered.

What is changing

Basis period reform is a fundamental shake up of the rules dictating when the trading profits of unincorporated businesses are subject to income tax.

From 6 April 2024 the existing basis period rules (the ‘current year basis’) will be abolished and replaced with a ‘tax year basis’ of assessment. This will break the link between accounting periods and tax reporting as...