Category: Tax

What records should you keep The sort of records you need to keep depends very much on the type of tax you have to pay and the size and complexity of your business. The table below gives examples of only the most common records required.  If you would like any more detailed advice specific to … Continued

George Osborne made much of his intended reductions in corporation tax from 1 April 2011. They are: 1 April 2011 – 2% fall from 28% to 26% 1 April 2012 – further 1% drop to 25% 1 April 2013 – further 1% drop to 24% 1 April 2014 – further 1% drop to 23% The … Continued

In a surprise but welcome announcement, the Chancellor increased the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs’ relief from £5 million to £10 million with effect from 6 April 2011. As a result, an individual who qualifies for the relief should only pay capital gains tax (CGT) at a rate of 10% on the first £10 million of … Continued

The tax savings that a business can make by transferring to a limited company can be frequently offset by other costs. Accordingly the decision to incorporate should not be taken for tax reasons alone. There are often other key issues to recognise, such as: The benefits and protection of limited liability. The tax impact of … Continued

New legislation applies to inaccuracies on returns due for filing on or after 1 April 2009, so if your business is subject to a VAT inspection, it is likely that the new penalty rules will be applied. Where a return includes a mistake (as opposed to deliberate understatement) the taxpayer is not liable to a … Continued

The recent case of Grace v HMRC has shed more light on HMRC’s position regarding residence. Mr Grace was born in South Africa but lived in the UK for a decade before moving back to Cape Town. He argued that for five years after 1997 he was not UK  tax-resident. This was challenged by HMRC who argued … Continued

Plumbers are the latest group to have been singled out for a closer look by HM Revenue & Customs. HMRC are offering a “tax amnesty” to people in the plumbing industry to encourage them to disclose any past irregularities that have resulted in an underpayment of tax. The amnesty – the Plumbers Tax Safe Plan … Continued

Cars When you purchase a car it is not possible to recover the VAT included in the purchase price unless you can demonstrate that private use of the vehicle is impossible. In most cases this restricts VAT recovery to cars or vehicles used as taxis, for driving instruction or self-drive hire. If you use the … Continued

Here are a few personal tax planning ideas that you might like to consider before the end of the current tax year, 5 April 2011. ISA allowance – Although it may not always seem that significant, the tax free environment of an ISA still remains attractive. The allowance for 2010/11 is £10,200 (of which £5,100 … Continued

Major changes have been implemented over the last year to the rules which determine whether VAT is chargeable on services supplied by a UK business to a customer based abroad. Business customers – The overall effect of these changes is to move most supplies to businesses out of the charge to UK VAT, thus relieving … Continued