Owner-managed businesses / 76 posts found
HMRC continue with so-called modernisation strategy
The recent formal announcement that HMRC will be replacing local offices with thirteen large regional centres has served to alert the general public to what tax professionals and accountants have known for some time - that to meet government cost and performance targets, HMRC must cut back on frontline staff and take forward digital interactions with taxpayers and their advisers. The announcement comes at a time when HMRC are also facing criticism over customer service issues. In its report on HMRC's performance in 2014-15, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently found that 'HMRC is still failing to [...]
Dividend allowance
The government announced at the summer 2015 Budget, that a new dividend allowance of £5,000 will be introduced from 6 April 2016. Broadly, from that date, it is expected that the existing dividend tax credit will be abolished, a new annual dividend tax allowance of £5,000 will be introduced, and the rates of tax on dividend income will change. The legislation introducing the dividend tax changes has not yet been published and the rules outlined below are therefore still subject to possible change. From April 2016, the 10% non-refundable dividend tax credit that currently attaches to dividends will be abolished, [...]
December 2015 Q&A
Q. Can I claim for the time I spend repairing my rental property? I own three rental properties and spend a considerable amount of time each year undertaking various necessary repairs. Can I pay myself say, an hourly rate, for the time I spend on the properties and claim a corresponding deduction in my accounts? A Any amounts taken from the property rental business will simply be viewed as a withdrawal of profits from the business and taxed accordingly. The HMRC Property Income Manual states 'A landlord can't deduct anything for the time they spend themselves working in their own [...]
How to Borrow From your Own Company without Falling Foul of the Law
A number of company directors receive loans from their companies, either to reinvest in the business or for personal use. Until recently the laws surrounding such a transaction have been stringent. However, from the 6th of April 2014 things have changed, albeit for the better, making it easier to take loans from your own company. This article will briefly cover the rules pre-April 2014 and then the new changes. The Rules Pre-April 2014 Previously when an employee of a company received an interest free or a very "cheap" loan it could be treated as a taxable benefit. The interest rate [...]
Estimating sales
It's common practice for business owners to estimate sales by focussing on total revenues and using that to drive their business plan. But, if you think about it, that doesn't make sense. Whether you succeed or fail, you will have no idea how or why it happened. You're flying in the dark. It takes a little more time, but your sales forecast should start from the bottom up and in as much detail as you can. You clearly need to know the sales price of your products and services, but you can also calculate an average sales value, based on [...]
When networking is not working
We'd all agree that we prefer to do business with those we know, like and trust. It follows, then, that if we can encourage these traits in others, our businesses should benefit. Most of the time, knowledge, likeability and trustworthiness are earned as the result of doing business with each other. But it's not the only way. There is another route to earning mutual respect that doesn't come from doing business but could very well lead to it. I'm talking about networking. For some businesses it's an integral part of what they do but for others, networking is simply not [...]