Category: Tax

The Social Investment Tax Relief scheme (SITR) introduced this year helps individuals support social enterprises, giving these enterprises access to new sources of finance. The new relief provides the investor with a deduction from their tax liability, equal to 30% of the amount invested. A £10,000 loan to a qualifying social enterprise would therefore allow … Continued

Currently, HM Revenue and Customs can collect tax debts of up to £3,000 by adjusting your Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax code. HMRC refers to this as ‘coding out’. The effect of this is to recover the debt from your income, by increasing the amount deducted from your income during the tax year. This … Continued

Details of changes to tax rules that will allow over 55s to access their defined contribution pension pots with more flexibility from April 2015, have been published in the Taxation of Pensions Bill. Under current rules, savers can take 25% of their pot as a tax-free lump sum and put the remaining 75% in a … Continued

Many people die intestate because they think their estate will automatically pass to their spouse free of inheritance tax (IHT). This is not necessarily correct. Moreover, having a Will in place makes it easier to get a grant of probate and avoids the Statutory Intestacy Rules governing how the estate is distributed. From 1 October … Continued

Don’t lose out, do it today. The Employment Allowance offers businesses and charities a reduction of up to £2,000 in the amount of employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) they have to pay every year. You can claim the Employment Allowance after the start of the tax year as long as your business or … Continued

A recent case before the Court of Appeal has determined that a particular company was not allowed tax relief on their sponsorship of a rugby club, as there was “duality of purpose”. The payments in question were posted to “marketing and advertising” in the company’s accounts. In order to secure tax relief against trading profits, … Continued

As advised in earlier newsletters, automatic in-year RTI late filing penalties start on 6 October 2014. However, HM Revenue and Customs have recently announced that the start date for penalties on PAYE schemes that have fewer than 50 employees will now be delayed until 6 March 2015. HMRC have said that the extra time will … Continued

Have you exceeded the maximum annual pension limit? Pension providers will soon be sending annual allowance pension statements for the 2013/14 tax year to all pension scheme members contributing more than £50,000 per year to a pension scheme. The annual allowance has been reduced from £50,000 to £40,000 from 2014/15 onwards. On receipt you will … Continued

From April 2014, employers can help staff with tax-free loans of up to £10,000. No taxable benefit-in-kind arises on interest-free loans where the total of all beneficial loans made to an employee does not exceed £10,000 at any time in the tax year. Such loans can prove beneficial for example in assisting employees to purchase … Continued