Owner-managed businesses / 76 posts found
February 2017 Q&A
Q. Due to unforeseen circumstances I have recently had to sell my house and down-size to a smaller property. I sold the house for £20,000 less than I paid for it. Can I offset this loss against income from my business and reduce my income tax liability for this year? A. Unfortunately the tax law does not permit you to do this. I am assuming that you are not trading in properties and the house was either your main residence or an investment asset. Losses on the sale of a principal private residence are generally not allowable losses for tax [...]
HMRC clarify pre-registration of VAT policy
HMRC have recently published Brief 16 (2016), entitled Treatment of VAT incurred on assets that are used by the business prior to VAT registration. Broadly, the brief aims to clarify when, and to what extent, VAT is deductible and what to do if the correct treatment has not been applied. A business registering for VAT may recover tax incurred on goods and services before their effective date of registration(EDR). This allows the recovery of VAT against goods and services as long as they are used by the taxable person to make taxable supplies once registered. Services must have been received [...]
Caps on income tax relief
In general terms, providing a business is undertaken on a commercial basis with a view to making a profit, tax relief should be available for trading losses incurred. It is usually possible to offset the loss against other taxable income from the same year, or the previous year. Other taxable income may include for example, a former employment (where tax was deducted under PAYE) or a pension. This relief may be particularly beneficial for someone who is self-employed on a part-time basis. For example, where an individual earns £30,000 a year from employment, and makes a £2,000 loss from his [...]
The Autumn Statement 2016
This is aimed at those who didn't receive our client newsletter - that is still available at http://eepurl.com/cqcb0b. If you do read them both, let me know which version you prefer:-) Summary Chancellor Philip Hammond has delivered his Autumn Statement 2016, which is the first major review of government finances since the EU Referendum, and Mr Hammond's first major statement since taking responsibility for the work of the Treasury in July 2016. As previously speculated, this will be Mr Hammond's only Autumn Statement as it was confirmed that the government is to move to a single major fiscal event each [...]
Self-assessment and disclosure
Finance Act 2016, which became law on 15 September 2016, contains provisions designed to help clarify the time allowed for making a self-assessment. The time limit is four years from the end of the tax year to which the self-assessment relates. This is the same time limit as for assessments by HMRC. The provisions will have effect on and after 5 April 2017, although there are transitional arrangements for years previous to this, as follows: for tax years prior to 2012/13, taxpayers have until 5 April 2017 to submit a self- assessment; for 2013/14, the deadline is 5 April 2018; [...]
Help-to-Save
The Savings (Government Contributions) Bill is currently making its way through Parliament, having had its second reading in the House of Commons on 17 October 2016. Broadly, if enacted, the Bill will introduce two new schemes - the lifetime ISA and Help-to-Save - both of which are designed to support more people as they try to save for the future. Help-to-Save will target working families on the lowest incomes to help them build up their savings. The scheme will be open to some 3.5 million adults in receipt of Universal Credit with minimum weekly household earnings equivalent to 16 hours [...]
Restriction of tax relief on finance costs for individual landlords
New provisions will take affect from April 2017, which will see tax relief for finance costs on residential properties being gradually restricted over a period of three years, until, by 2020/21, all financing costs incurred by a landlord will be restricted to the basic rate of income tax. Such finance costs include mortgage interest, interest on loans to buy furnishings and fees incurred when taking out or repaying mortgages or loans. No relief is available for capital repayments of a mortgage or loan. Landlords will no longer be able to deduct all of their finance costs from their property income [...]
November 2016 Q&A
Q. I have recently set up my own business after having been employed for many years. Although I am hopeful that I will eventually make a profit, I anticipate that I am likely to make a small loss in each of my first three years of trading. What is the best way for me to utilise these losses for tax purposes? A. If a business is being carried on a commercial basis with a view to making a profit, it is generally possible to claim relief for a trading loss in one tax year against other taxable income (for example [...]
Termination payments consultation
Following a recent consultation, the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) is currently consulting on proposed changes to the tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) treatment of termination payments. The current rules governing termination payments are complex and are sometimes open to manipulation by employers to take advantage of the employer NIC exemption in particular. Employers sometimes attempt to change the nature of payments so that they effectively become exempt termination payments, where strictly, they should be charged to tax and NICs. The proposed changes are therefore designed to provide certainty for employers and employees, whilst being fair, simple to implement, [...]
October 2016 Q&A
Q. I have recently started a new job and, for the first time in my career, I have been provided with a company car. I have to pay for fuel for private use but my employer says I can claim mileage for business journeys. Will I have to pay tax on fuel payments? A. In addition to the company car benefit charge, employees have to pay tax on any fuel their employer provides that is used for private mileage. For 2016-17 you would calculate this amount by multiplying the car's CO2 percentage by £22,200. So, if the percentage is 28, [...]