Category: Tax

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

Significant changes will be made to both Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) from April 2011 through to April 2013. In April 2014 these benefits will be abolished and replaced by the new Universal benefit which will be introduced from late in 2013. Reducing awards by reference to household income Presently the … Continued

Three ideas to consider before your business tax year end (2010-11). 1. Accelerating revenue and capital expenditure If you are considering significant revenue expenditure, redecorating your office, repairing plant or other equipment; or capital expenditure, buying commercial vehicles, computers or plant – you may want to consider the timing of the expenditure. Expenditure that impacts … Continued

On 4 January 2011 the standard rate of VAT increased from 17.5% to 20%. For those of you who may have missed our previous notices about this change, and its effects, you may like to download HMRC’s comprehensive guide on the change that can be found at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rate-rise-guidance.pdf Readers should also re-examine their use of … Continued

The expected changes to the Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) tax rules were published on 9 December 2010. They are: From April 2011 Loss relief will be restricted. From April 2011 property owners will not be able to transfer losses against other income sources. Losses will only be available to carry forward and set off against … Continued

The good news is that all the special VAT schemes that existed prior to 6 April 2011 continue with a few minor changes. Flat Rate Scheme This scheme can be particularly beneficial for businesses that have low levels of business expenditure that include VAT. Because of this, businesses that manufacture or sell goods are disadvantaged … Continued

On 17 December 2010 HMRC announced their intention to roll out a programme of Business Record Checks in the second half of 2011. At present they are consulting with professional organisations regarding the scope of their enquiries.  This consultation will be completed and the results published by 31 March 2010. If your business is selected … Continued