Category: Tax

There are a number of government approved share schemes which offer certain tax advantages to employees. The approved schemes are: Share Incentive Plans (SIP), Save As You Earn (SAYE) schemes, Company Share Option Plans (CSOP) and Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes. The schemes are designed to help incentivise employees by giving them the opportunity to … Continued

HMRC have recently published new guidance designed to help contractors self-assess their possible liability to the IR35 rules. Twelve business entity test questions explore the following main areas: Business premises PII Efficiency Assistance Advertising Previous PAYE Business plan Repair at own expense Client risk Billing Right of substitution Actual substitution Each test asks at least … Continued

The rules for UK businesses claiming VAT refunds from other EU countries changed on 1 January 2010. A new simplified scheme was introduced that now allows claims to be made electronically to HMRC rather than a paper based claim to the country where the expense was incurred. The deadline for the submission of a refund … Continued

Whilst many of us will never have an opportunity to sell or carry an Olympic torch, recent publicity about this issue has highlighted the possible tax implications if you sell an item of personal property for a profit. A charge to capital gains tax (CGT) arises if you sell a chattel (an item of personal, … Continued

The VAT DIY Housebuilders scheme has been designed to allow a homeowner, building a home, to benefit from certain special VAT rules. The rules allow the qualifying construction costs of new homes and certain conversion works to be zero-rated and VAT repaid on certain qualifying construction costs. The following types of conversion are eligible to … Continued

HMRC taskforces are comprised of multiple teams from across HMRC including special investigations, local compliance and criminal investigation units for targeting specific sectors and locations where there is a high risk of tax evasion. The taskforces use local knowledge and risk profiling to help create a list of businesses to target. The taskforces also use … Continued

Full relief from Capital Gains Tax: In general, taxpayers are entitled to full relief from CGT where all the following conditions are met: 1.       The family home has been the taxpayers’ only or main residence throughout the period of ownership. 2.      The taxpayer has not been absent from the home other than for an allowed … Continued

If an employee or director receives a loan from their employer two potential tax liabilities are triggered: one for the employee and one for the employer. Whether these tax charges are chargeable depends on a number of issues. Employees or directors A tax charge will usually apply to interest free and low-interest loans provided to … Continued

Following intense lobbying by interested parties the Government has withdrawn, or revised a number of proposed changes to VAT that it had intended to introduce in the Budget 2012. The two items that received the most publicity are listed below: VAT on hot food One of the most contentious and unpopular issues announced as part … Continued

There are three main VAT schemes available to small businesses: The flat rate scheme The annual accounting scheme The cash accounting scheme The flat rate scheme – This scheme is especially useful for businesses with minimal VAT on business expenses (input tax) to reclaim. For qualifying traders real cash savings can be made. Businesses can … Continued