We teamed up with food-focused multi-disciplinary business Foodsync, to host the first Stockport Food and Drink Awards which was held on Wednesday 20th June at Robinsons Brewery. The awards followed the first ever Stockport Food & Drink Trade Show which was held at Stockport Market place during the day. The after show party and awards gave guests the opportunity to carry on conversations with new contacts, and an opportunity to try tasters from various food and drink retailers from Stockport,...

As a VAT registered business, there are just two things you need to do to avoid a VAT penalty: pay your VAT on time and submit your VAT return on time. If you fail on either task twice within 12 months, you are put on the VAT equivalent of the naughty step. Businesses with a turnover of £150,000 or more do not get that one-time free pass, as they are put on to the VAT naughty step (aka: VAT surcharge period) after just one late payment, or late filing of a return. The surcharge period is a...

If your business has a workplace pension which complies with the auto-enrolment rules, that scheme must receive a minimum level of contributions on behalf of each employee who is enrolled in the scheme. This level of contributions is expressed as a percentage of the employee's pensionable pay. The rules of the particular scheme will define what pensionable pay is for each employee, as this can vary from scheme to scheme. For example, pensionable may be the amount paid between the NIC lower...

Stockport based chartered accountants and business advisors Clarke Nicklin have teamed up with food-focused multi-disciplinary business Foodsync, to host the first Stockport Food and Drink Awards on the 20th June. Clarke Nicklin who are organisers and main sponsors of the Stockport Business Awards have been working with Foodsync to support the first Stockport Food and Drink Trade show, giving food and drink businesses and suppliers the opportunity to connect to people producing great stuff...

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates increased for pay periods beginning on and after 1 April 2018. The rate for those aged 25 and over (also called the living wage) rose from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour, an increase of 4.4%. The three other NMW rates vary from £4.20 to £7.38 per hour, according to the employee's age. Individuals who are enrolled on an approved apprenticeship may be paid a reduced rate of £3.70 per hour for the first year of their apprenticeship, or while they are under the age...

Directors and employees sometimes borrow from their company, intending to pay the money back, but the actual repayment gets delayed. This can lead to a benefit in kind tax charge on the individual, and a class 1A NIC charge for the company. These charges can be avoided if the amount borrowed at any point in the tax year doesn’t exceed £10,000. If a greater amount is borrowed, there will be no tax charge if the individual has agreed to pay interest on the loan at a rate equal to or greater than...

You can pay your son or daughter from your business, but only if their pay is reasonable for the work that they do for the business. Don’t fall into the trap of paying over the odds for office assistance just because the worker is your relative. Tax inspectors tend to be suspicious of amounts paid to the owner's offspring, so you need to retain some supporting evidence of the work done. This is particularly important if the work is not performed at your business premises. In that case, ask the...

If you receive a pension or are paid a wage or salary, you should have a new PAYE tax code for 2018/19. It used to be issued in paper form, but now it may arrive electronically if you have activated your personal tax account at www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account. In that case, you will get a notification to go to your personal tax account and check your new PAYE code. Please do take the time to check it, as an incorrect PAYE code will mean you could pay too much or too little tax. The key items to...

We have teamed up with food-focused multi-disciplinary business Foodsync to host the first Stockport Food and Drink Awards on the 20th June. Clarke Nicklin who are organisers and main sponsors of the Stockport Business Awards have been working with Foodsync to support the first Stockport Food and Drink Trade show giving food and drink businesses and suppliers the opportunity to connect to people producing great stuff with passion and purpose; the aim is to bring those business closer to local...

When you let a spare room to a lodger, you are not only creating some extra income for yourself, but you are also increasing the availability of low cost accommodation. This is why the Government allows up to £7,500 of the gross rent you receive per year to be tax free under rent-a-room relief. That tax relief can also cover bed-and-breakfast arrangements, such as letting rooms by the night through sites such as Airbnb.com. However, in all cases, the letting must be of furnished residential...

New tax law places a requirement on the taxpayer to correct their past tax position in relation to tax due on overseas assets and transactions, rather than on HMRC to discover the facts. If you make the correction on or before 30 September 2018, and pay any tax due, you will face the normal level of penalties (up to 100% of the tax). If the disclosure is made after that date, the penalties can be up to 200% of the tax due and, in addition, you could be subject to additional penalties based on...

The most expensive piece of equipment most small businesses use is a car, but the Government generally doesn’t allow you to claim a deduction for the full cost of a car in the year of purchase. The acquisition cost of most cars must be spread over several years using Capital Allowances, the rate of which varies depending on the vehicle’s CO2 emissions. Cars with higher emissions qualify for a Capital Allowance deduction of 8% of the reduced cost per year, and cars with lower emissions qualify for...

Tax free childcare accounts can now be opened by all eligible parents who have children aged under 12, or under 17 if the child is disabled. For every £8 the parent deposits in the account, the Government will contribute £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 of Government support per child per year. Those limits are doubled for disabled children. Parents who open a tax free childcare account are not supposed to double-up their childcare support by also receiving childcare vouchers or directly paid-for...

It should be reasonable to assume that information published in the name of HMRC on gov.uk would be 100% accurate, but unfortunately it is not. For example, HMRC asserts that every company director must register for self assessment and complete a self assessment tax return for each year they hold the directorship. This is incorrect. A person only has to register for self assessment if he or she has income or gains to report to HMRC. There is no special condition set down in the tax law which...

Over 30 charities across Stockport and Greater Manchester applied for the opportunity to become charity partner for the 2018 Stockport Business Awards, but there could only be one winner and this year’s chosen charity is Signpost Stockport for Carers. The judging panel included the organisers, founders and main sponsors Clarke Nicklin, headline sponsors Gorvins Solicitors and Orbit Developments, and an Economic Alliance and Stockport Council representative. Signpost Stockport for Carers are...

All interest paid on accounts other than ISAs is taxable, but banks and building societies no longer have to deduct tax from the interest they pay to you. However, for most taxpayers the rate of tax payable on the interest is 0%, so no tax is in fact payable. This zero tax rate applies where your savings income falls within your Savings Rate Band (SRB), which is worth up to £5,000, or within your Personal Savings Allowance (PSA), which is worth £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers or £500 for...

The end of the accounting period for your business is a key point for tax planning. You can save or delay tax by moving income and expenditure between accounting periods. For instance, advancing the acquisition of assets to just within your current accounting period will mean the capital allowances associated with those assets can be claimed earlier. All of the cost of qualifying assets which fall within your Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is relieved as a capital allowance in the year of...

The VAT registration threshold will be held at £85,000 until at least April 2020. This may bring more businesses into the VAT fold if they increase their prices with the rate of inflation. Say your annual sales are £83,000. If you increase your prices by 3% in January 2018, by 2019 your turnover will be £85,490, and you will have to register for VAT within 30 days. You could restrict your price increase so your turnover remains under £85,000, but if your purchase costs are increasing this will...

The VAT registration threshold can be a cliff edge for many businesses, as once the business turnover exceeds that threshold it must charge VAT on all eligible sales. For your UK sales, you must check the cumulative total of your VATable sales (including zero-rated items) for every 12-month period, and register for VAT within 30 days once this total exceeds £85,000. Do this calculation every month, as if you tally-up your sales just once a year for your accounts, you may miss this 30-day...

If you use your own car for a business journey, perhaps to travel to a customer, you can claim mileage expenses for that journey. Many employers pay the full tax-free amount of 45p per mile, which drops to 25p for miles in excess of 10,000 in one tax year. If your employer doesn't pay the full rate, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall, either on your tax return or on form P87. You need to submit your claim within four years of the end of the tax year in which you made the business...

January is the cruellest month for the self-employed. No one has the money to pay you, and HMRC wants a large tax payment. Tax and NIC due on your self-employed profits for 2017/18 is paid in two Payments on Account (POA), on 31 January 2018 and 31 July 2018. These amounts are based on the tax liability reported in your 2016/17 self-assessment tax return. If your final tax liability for 2016/17 is more than the total of POA paid in January and July 2017, you pay the rest on 31 January 2018,...

Buying property is about to get a little more complicated, as the taxes you pay on purchase will be different in Wales, Scotland, and the rest of the UK from 1 April 2018. In Wales, Land Transaction Tax (LTT) will apply to residential property purchased for over £180,000, with a starting rate of 3.5% in the band to £250,000. This contrasts with the starting rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland of 2% for properties in the band £125,001 to £250,000. In Scotland the...

Diesel vehicles are regarded as being more fuel-efficient than petrol models, but they are taxed at higher rates as their NOx emissions are more harmful. If you are considering a new company or privately owned car, take account of the following tax penalties for diesels. The rate of vehicle excise duty (VED) for cars registered on and after 1 April 2018 will be higher in every band for diesel cars, but only for the first year of registration. From 6 April 2018 the percentage of list price...

Most people have an annual exemption for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of £11,300 for 2017/18. This is wasted if you don't make capital gains in the tax year. You can't carry forward any unused exemption to a different tax year, or transfer the exemption to another person. If you are planning to dispose of assets which will create capital gains, you can save tax if the disposals are spread over several tax years. This is easy to do if your assets can be split into separate chunks, like shares. Each sale...

For many people the New Year prompts a review of their life goals. If you are now wondering whether, or when, you should sell your business, a sensible first step is to make a provisional plan for its disposal. The sale of a successful trading company will generate a capital gain, which would normally be taxed at 20% after deduction of the annual exemption (currently £11,300, £11,700 for 2018/19). Entrepreneurs' Relief can reduce the tax rate to 10% on a gain of up to £10m. But both of these...

The Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) applies when a company (and certain other bodies) owns a UK residential property worth over £500,000. The charge applies for the year from 1 April, but the ATED return, and any payment due, must reach HMRC by 30 April within that period (i.e., by 30 April 2018 for 2018/19). This annual charge starts at £3,600, and increases for valuation bands up to £226,950 for 2018/19. The charge is based on the property’s value as at 1 April 2017, or the purchase...

The Government encourages individuals to make high-risk investments in small trading companies or charities by providing income tax relief for investors in the following schemes (limits for 2017/18): • Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR): 30% relief on up to £1 million• Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS): 30% relief on up to £1 million• Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS): 50% relief on up to £100,000• Venture Capital Trust (VCT): 30% relief on up to £200,000 From 6 April 2018 you can...

When you let rooms in your own home as residential accommodation you can receive the rent tax free if it falls within the limits for rent-a-room relief. This relief is currently capped at rents of £7,500 per year. Where more than one person receives the rent from the property, each person has a tax-free exemption for rent of £3,750. The conditions for rent-a-room relief stipulate that you must occupy the property as your main home – this relief can’t cover income from a holiday home or...

You can save for retirement in a number of ways. The traditional route is via a pension scheme, but you could also use an ISA. Savers aged under 40 can open a lifetime ISA, and contribute up to £4,000 per year which attracts a 25% bonus from the Government. This bonus is withdrawn if the savings are accessed for anything other than a deposit for the saver’s first home, or from age 60. The lifetime ISA savings are counted as part of the annual ISA allowance of £20,000 per tax year. This...

Employers are required to automatically enrol their employees in a workplace pension from the staging date set by the pensions regulator. The last few businesses will reach their staging dates by 1 February 2018. If you have not auto-enrolled your employees already, you need to comply very soon. Most employees, with very limited exceptions, must be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW). These hourly rates vary according to the age of the worker, so it’s crucial to keep a sharp eye on the...

Entries for the Stockport Business Awards are now open. Businesses within the Borough of Stockport will have the opportunity to enter one or more of the 12 categories for a chance to win at this years awards dinner which will be held on Thursday 11th October at the iconic Stockport Town Hall. The event celebrates all that is great about business in Stockport and I’d encourage anybody to take a look at the categories and submit a nomination. There’s something for everyone and you’ve got nothing...

The Government’s aspiration for the UK tax system is that all taxpayers should submit their accounts information to HMRC directly from accounting software. The first step towards this brave new digital world will be taken by VAT registered businesses. From 1 April 2019, VAT registered businesses will have to submit their VAT returns via accounting software, not as now, by inputting figures on to a form on the HMRC webpage. There will be exceptions for business owners who can’t use computers...

Events don’t always turn out as expected. For example, you may need to wait for a later profit or loss to arise before you can judge whether it’s right to elect to change the tax treatment of an earlier transaction. This is why the law allows you extra time, after you have submitted your tax return, to submit a tax election or claim. The elections you may need to make by 31 January 2018 for the 2015/16 tax year include: • To set trading losses against your other income• To average the profits made...

Main sponsors and organisers, Clarke Nicklin Chartered Accountants, hosted the launch of the Stockport Business Awards on Thursday 22nd March. The event was held at The Light Cinema in Stockport where attendees were treated to a screening of highlights from last year’s awards dinner, which was hosted by Jenny Powell at the iconic Stockport Town Hall. The screening was followed by drinks and canapes provided by street food specialist Oh My Glaze, and then the opportunity to network with over...

Individual landlords of residential properties are subject to two new tax rules from 6 April 2017: a restriction on deducting interest costs, and the ‘cash basis’ for accounts where the property business has a turnover of no more than £150,000. The cash basis has the effect of taxing income in the year it is received and expenses in the year they are paid. It may benefit you if your tenants tend to pay late. You can opt out of the cash basis if you wish. In 2017/18 individual landlords are...

When you die, your executors or relatives need to sort out your affairs. This stressful task can be made easier if you leave a clear and up-to-date Will which has been drafted with tax in mind. They also need to pay inheritance tax (IHT) if the net value of your assets, including your home and any insurance policies that pay out on your death, exceeds £325,000. Any wealth above this threshold bears IHT at 40%, or at 36% if at least 10% of your net estate has been left to charity. The IHT...

In the UK, everyone is taxed as an individual, but social security benefits, including Tax Credits and Universal Credit, are awarded on the basis of the family's total income. Child benefit is also withdrawn based on the income of the higher earner of a couple, irrespective of who claimed it. Families with an unequal distribution of income will often pay more tax than couples who earn enough each to cover their basic personal allowance (£11,500 for 2017/18) and the basic rate band. The...

If you are slow in submitting your tax returns, you will get a late filing penalty. Say you miss the deadline for filing your self-assessment tax return (31 January for online filing) you will be charged a £100 penalty. Where the tax return is for a partnership, each partner must pay £100. If the return is filed more than three months late an additional £10 per day is charged, and after six months another penalty is imposed as the higher of £300 or 5% of the tax due. Those penalties will stand...

Lisa Clarke, who joins the business as Corporate Finance and Advisory Senior, previously worked as Business Partnering Senior in her former role. Lisa brings a wealth of experience and comments “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the team at Clarke Nicklin and look forward to building excellent relationships with both colleagues and clients”. There is a huge demand from companies looking for support with their corporate finance assignments such as raising finance, acquisitions, buyouts,...

If you are yet to reach state pension age (SPA), you will need to have accrued 35 complete years of National Insurance Contributions (NIC), to receive the full state pension. To receive any UK state retirement pension, you need at least 10 complete NIC years. You can check how much state pension you are due to receive through your personal tax account on gov.uk. We can help you with this. You may not receive the full pension if you were contracted out of the second state pension or State...

Companies which invent new production methods or products can claim enhanced tax relief for the research and development (R&D) costs. Small and medium sized companies can claim 230% of qualifying R&D costs, and a 14.5% payable tax credit if this extra deduction results in a loss! This is a very attractive relief and it’s really quite easy to claim. You can ask HMRC for an advance assurance that your company, and its R&D projects, will meet the requirements for R&D tax relief. We can help you...

Giving to charity under Gift Aid can result in a win/win for both the donor and the charity. If your total income is above the higher rate threshold (£45,000 for 2017/18 or £43,000 in Scotland), making a Gift Aid donation will reduce your tax bill for the year in which the donation is made. Alternatively, you can shift the tax benefit of some or all of that gift back one year, by telling HMRC on your tax return. This can be useful if your marginal tax rate was higher last year than in the...

When your total income reaches certain thresholds, it tips any extra income into a tax band where a higher rate of tax is charged. This can also mean you lose part or all of your savings allowance, child benefit, personal allowance, or pension annual allowance. The thresholds quoted below don’t apply to taxpayers who live in Scotland, as the income tax rates in Scotland are different to those that apply in the rest of the UK (see above). However, the principle is the same. You may be able to...

The tax system behaves like a hydra monster, no sooner has one head been chopped off, two more grow in its place. From April 2018 the UK will have three versions of land transaction tax and three types of landfill tax (in Scotland, Wales and the rest of UK). There are also likely to be six income tax bands for Scottish taxpayers. These changes are the result of the devolution of tax powers to Scotland and Wales, but they will impact wider communities. Be thankful that the tax reforms for...

Penalties for filing PAYE returns late start at £100 per month for the smallest payrolls, and rise to £400 per month for payrolls with 250 or more employees. You can make one late submission before a penalty is imposed, but how do you stay within the rules? Employers must file the full payment submission (FPS) report for their payroll on or before the earlier of:• the day on which the employees are actually paid;• the date on which those employees become entitled to their pay Say the...

We have often alerted you to scams which purport to be communications from HMRC, but are actually criminals trying to access your bank account or your login details for your online tax account. These types of scams continue, but HMRC are conducting a number of genuine surveys through the market research firms Kantar Public and Ipso MORI. If you are selected for the survey you won’t be asked to provide any personal or financial information, or to make any payments. You can also refuse to take part...

When you access your online bank account you generally need to complete a two-step security process, which may include inputting a code generated by a keypad or received via a text message. HMRC is now rolling out a two-step security process which all businesses will need to complete before filing PAYE, VAT or corporation tax returns. This means that in addition to entering your usual login details, you will need access to a mobile phone, or a telephone landline, or an app, to receive a...

Clarke Nicklin have announced a new partnership with The Christie. The Christie raises money to fund research into new cancer drugs and treatment options, and is an incredible support function for patients and families. Clarke Nicklin employees are aiming to raise as much as possible to support the ongoing research and treatments by The Christie. Raising money for The Christie is very close to the hearts for those at Clarke Nicklin, as one of their employees, Adam Burke, was diagnosed with a brain...

Entries are now open to apply for a chance to become this year’s Stockport Business Awards charity partner. The new charity partner will benefit from all fundraising activities and proceeds arising from Stockport Business Awards. The chosen charity will also get links and branding on the Stockport Business Awards website, PR coverage before and after the awards, promotion in the awards brochure, the opportunity to make a short speech on the night and to form new relationships with local...

Your company’s corporation tax bill is payable nine months and one day after the end of the company’s accounting period, so by 1 October for a period that ended on the previous 31 December. The corporation tax bill may be the largest single tax payment you make in the year, so it’s essential to get it right. Check these points: • Does the amount you are paying agree with the accounts and tax computation? You can pay an estimated amount if the tax return hasn’t been filed yet • Are there...

How can you tax certain benefits in kind through your payroll, and how should you take action if you want to register for this? Registering for this service should mean a more efficient method of collecting tax on employees’ benefits throughout the tax year, rather than pay the tax after the end of the year. It should also mean that there won’t be any more repeated adjustments to an employees’ tax code. In addition, you won’t need to report the benefits on a form P11D after the end of the tax...

Clarke Nicklin, are once again partnering with business support initiative Pioneer 10. Pioneer 10, based in the Stockport Business and Innovation Centre, is designed to give people with great business ideas exciting access to a free business award and growth coaching programme. It is aimed at early stage businesses who are keen to grow along with established businesses looking to innovate and/or enter new markets. The winner and the runner up will receive an award worth c £15,000 and will...

If your company is registered under the construction industry scheme (CIS) as a sub-contractor, it will generally have CIS tax deducted from the payments it receives from large contractor companies. There are two ways to get your hands on this withheld CIS tax: as a credit against PAYE due, or reclaim it directly from HMRC. Your first option should always be to off-set the CIS tax against your company’s PAYE liability. Make this claim on the Employer Payment Summary (EPS) each month, and the...

Tax is complicated, and sometimes it isn’t obvious what amounts you should report on your tax return. For example, if you give away a property or shares, how do you determine whether you have to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) tax on that gift or not? The first step is to take account of who you have given the asset to. A gift to a charity will be exempt from tax, but where the recipient is a relative, you are generally taxed as if you had sold it at market value. A transfer to your spouse or civil...

THE STOCKPORT BUSINESS AWARDS - THE HIGHLY COMMENDED The highly prestigious Stockport Business Awards took place last October and received hundreds of applications from businesses in the Stockport Borough. Chartered accountants, Clarke Nicklin, who are the organisers, founders, and main sponsors of the event, held the first award ceremony back in 2012 at the Hallmark Hotel. The event was huge success and soon moved to the iconic Stockport Town Hall. The 2017 awards was a sell-out event with...

HMRC has upgraded its computer system to react quickly to changes in taxpayers’ pay and benefits reported through the payroll. We can help you check whether your PAYE code has been amended to deduct more tax than you should be paying. Another bug in the tax code programming affects taxpayers who receive interest. For most taxpayers, any interest they receive is covered by their savings allowance, and no tax is payable. If the explanation of your PAYE code includes ‘untaxed interest’ set...

Where your main income is taxed under PAYE, you may not be asked to complete a tax return each year. Instead, the HMRC computer automatically compares all the reports of your income made by employers and banks, and if you have under or over-paid tax for the year the computer issues a tax computation on a form P800. Interest paid by banks and building societies has been paid without tax deducted since 6 April 2016. If you received interest with tax deducted in 2015/16, the same amount of...

Research and development (R&D) tax relief allows small and medium-sized companies to claim a tax deduction for 230% of their qualifying R&D costs, but they must show how the total of relevant costs was arrived at. This total of costs claimed can include the salaries of employees and directors directly engaged in R&D projects, along with business expenses reimbursed to those individuals. The official HMRC guidance had indicated that reimbursed employee expenses could not be included in the R&D...

Last year the team at Clarke Nicklin worked hard on fundraising for the childrens charity, When you Wish Upon a Star. From dressing up, fun runs and bake offs, the team raised over £300 for this amazing charity.  When You Wish Upon a Star has a simple mission, to grant the Wishes of children living with a life threatening illness. The charity was founded in Nottingham by Barbara White who was so inspired by a seriously ill four year old with a dream to meet Mickey Mouse that she wanted to bring...

Laura Frost joins Clarke Nicklin as our new marketing manager and takes over from Chelsea Maher as she leaves to pursue her travelling dream after nine years with the business. Laura Frost will now head up our marketing department and will be the main contact for The Stockport Business Awards, which are coming up in October 2018. Laura has over 10 years’ experience in marketing and PR within professional services and joins us from property law firm PLS Solicitors. Laura commented - "I'm...

VAT is charged at three rates in the UK: 20%, 5% and 0%; so zero is definitely a number for VAT. However, zero-rated sales should not be confused with VAT-exempt sales. Sales which are zero-rated must be included within your business turnover that counts towards the test for compulsory VAT registration, whereas exempt sales are not included in that total. This distinction is particularly important for new traders, whose turnover for a 12-month period can quickly exceed the VAT threshold (now...

The VAT rules are relatively easy to operate on a day-to-day basis, if all your income is business related and all your sales are subject to VAT. You can reclaim all the VAT incurred on your purchases, and you don’t have to worry about apportioning your input costs. However, some organisations receive income from non-business activities, such as grants for undertaking environmental work, or have sales which are exempt from VAT. In these cases, the VAT-registered business will have to apportion...

Stockport Business Awards 2017 took place at Stockport Town Hall last night and 400 people turned out to celebrate the achievements of the town’s best businesses. The awards were set up by Clarke Nicklin Chartered Accountants back in 2012 and have grown year on year. 12 awards were given out in total including two new ones for this year; Best Creative Agency which went to Platform 81, and Best Food Business which went to Angkor Soul, a Cambodian restaurant based in Marple, which is 1 of only 2...

If your business deals in second-hand goods, it can use a concession that significantly reduces your VAT payments compared to normal VAT accounting. Using this concession you account for the VAT on its profit margin on the second-hand goods, rather than on the full sales value. The record-keeping requirements for using this concession are very strict, and you must distinguish between the goods which have had some prior use before you acquired them, and are thus treated as second-hand, and...

A business that has some income which is exempt from VAT, but also makes sales that are subject to VAT, is referred to as ‘partly exempt’. Input VAT on purchases can only be recovered if it relates to ‘VATable’ sales made by the business, i.e., those which carry VAT at 20%, 5% or 0%. If the input VAT relates to a range of sales, some of which are exempt and some of which carry VAT, an apportionment is needed. The partly exempt businesses must allocate its purchase invoices into three...

After your death your relatives will have to pay inheritance tax (IHT) at 40%, if the net value of your assets exceeds £325,000. A discounted rate of 36% applies if you leave at least 10% of your net estate to charity. Where you leave the value of your home to a direct descendant, an extra IHT nil rate band of £100,000 applies, increasing the total nil rate band to £425,000. The home-related nil rate band increases by £25,000 each year until it reaches £175,000 from April 2020. Those who die...

Pension scheme rules are complicated, and they are constantly changing. It is essential that you take advice from a qualified independent financial adviser before drawing funds from your pension scheme, or using those funds to invest in business assets. Before you sign any deals, check whether your financial adviser is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, and ask about their professional qualifications. If the strict rules are not adhered to when your pension scheme lends money to a...

When you purchase a new property off-plan, you may put down a deposit to reserve the property before it is finished, or even started. The contract to purchase the property is normally not completed until the property is finished, and at that time the balance of the purchase price must be paid. If you can’t pay the balance when requested, you lose the right to complete the contract and acquire the property. You will also lose your deposit. In most cases you cannot set that loss against other...

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a project to transform the UK tax system so that accounting data flows into HMRC digitally and at least quarterly. The General Election created a temporary pause in MTD, but it is clear that the project will continue as HMRC has invested too much in MTD to scrap it. Individuals with total business or rental income of less than £10,000 per year won’t have to make periodic reports under MTD. Most other businesses and landlords will have to use accounting software to submit...

The snap General Election curtailed the Parliamentary time available to pass new laws. As a result, a number of tax changes which were expected to come into effect on 1 April or 6 April 2017 did not become law, including: New Allowances Two new allowances of £1,000 each were to apply from 6 April 2017. These would allow taxpayers to earn small amounts from let property or trading and not report that income on a tax return. You need to keep records of all the income you receive and the related...