New flexibility for groups of employers to share the apprenticeship levy allowance

The Chartered Institute of Taxation has welcomed the government’s announcement that it intends to amend the Finance Bill to give small business owners greater flexibility in managing the cost of the apprenticeship levy.

The charge is due to apply from April 2017 at the rate of 0.5% of employers’ pay bills subject to a £15 000 allowance. The government originally proposed that if companies were connected only one employing company in the group could claim the allowance. But it has decided to allow a group of connected employers the flexibility to decide the proportion of the £15 000 allowance to which each employing company will be entitled.

Colin Ben-Nathan chairman of the CIOT’s employment taxes sub-committee said: ‘Allowing connected companies to split the £15 000 allowance between them will mean they can use the allowance in full so that as long as their combined pay bill does...