Latest News
Mar 2019 – Cash and finance costs
Individual landlords of residential properties are subject to restrictions on how much interest and finance costs they can deduct from rental income. In 2018/19 individual landlords are permitted to deduct just 50% of their interest and finance charges for tax purposes. From 6 April 2019 ...
Mar 2019 – Your clear intention
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 ...
Feb 2019 – ISA nice idea
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% ...
Feb 2019 – A family view
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 Child Benefit is also withdrawn based on the income of the higher earner of a couple, ...
Feb 2019 – Tax-free rent
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 ...
Feb 2019 – Give and save
Giving to charity under Gift Aid can result in a win/win for both the donor and the charity. Making a Gift Aid donation will reduce your tax bill for the year in which the donation is made if your total income is above the 40% ...
Jan 2019 – Max out your state pension
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 ten complete NIC years.You ...
Jan 2019 – Interesting Savings
All interest you receive is taxable, unless it is from an ISA, but banks and building societies no longer deduct tax from interest paid to individuals. However, for most taxpayers the rate of tax payable on that interest is 0%, so no tax is in ...
Jan 2019 – Already successfully submitted VAT returns under the MTD Pilot scheme
As you may be aware from April 2019 businesses above the VAT threshold (£85,000) will need to submit their VAT return through commercial software to be compliant with new HMRC legislation. You may already have cloud/compliant accounting software and ready for the changes that Making ...
Dec 2018 – Pension Lump Sum
If you have received a lump sum payment from your pension fund you may have had excess tax deducted from it. This happens, for example, because the pension provider tends to use an emergency PAYE code for the first payment you take from your fund ...
Dec 2018 – SEIS Investments
The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is specifically designed for young companies to raise relatively small amounts of start-up capital. The investors receive 50% income tax relief on the amount they subscribe for new shares, and those shares are exempt from capital gains tax (CGT) ...
Dec 2018 – Inheritance Tax on your Home
The total amount of inheritance tax (IHT) paid to the UK Treasury increases by around 10% per year. This is largely due to rising residential property values and is frozen at £325,000 per person. IHT is payable at 40% above the nil band. If you ...
