From 31st August 2011 mortgage lenders can ask HM Revenue and Customs to check the details declared to them on mortgage applications. The scheme is intended to stop mortgage fraud but also has implications for HMRC tax investigations. Fundamentally, this means that the income declared to mortgage lenders and that declared on self-assessment tax returns [...]
Dividends versus Salary
Paying a combination of salary, taxed under PAYE, and dividends can be much more tax advantageous than paying yourself only by salary. Dividends attract neither employees nor employers national insurance. On top of this, if you are a basic rate tax payer, you do not pay income tax on the dividends that you draw out. [...]
Company cars
Do you run a company car through your business? It is not always the most tax advantageous way of running your car and you could end up paying more tax than you need to. It might be that you are better off running the car yourself and paying yourself a mileage allowance to cover the [...]
Suggestion schemes
Setting up a suggestion scheme for your staff has many benefits. Not only does it make them feel like a valued member of your business but you can also reward them with tax-free cash! You never know, they might come up with ideas that you had never thought of and make your business more profitable. [...]
Planning your capital gains
Every individual is entitled to an annual capital gains tax allowance of £10,600. This allowance is given for each tax year i.e. 6th April to 5th April. If you are planning on selling any assets you should consider whether or not they are subject to capital gains tax and whether or not the gains that [...]
What do I pay tax on?
For sole traders and partnerships the profit figure in your accounts is before the money you take out of the business for yourself. If you make a profit of £100,000 and take out £98,000 for your personal use and to pay your own tax bills then although you may have made £100,000 profit, you have already [...]
Did you know that your staff costs will soon be increasing?
With effect from October 2012 the government are phasing in compulsory pension schemes for ALL employers. As a result, both you and your employees could be forced to make contributions to pension schemes. The potential result is that your employees will receive an enforced pay rise and will also be forced to pay into a [...]
Should you be VAT registered?
The threshold for registering for VAT is £73,000 per annum. Turnover above this level means that you must be registered for VAT. If your main customers are other VAT registered businesses then it would be to your advantage to register for VAT even if your turnover is below the £73,000 threshold. You would be able [...]
New Tax Return Late Filing Penalties
A new regime for penalties on the late filing of self-assessment tax returns came into force for 2010/11 tax returns. In previous years self-assessment tax returns that were filed after the 31st January deadline were only penalised if there was tax due. This has now changed and all late tax returns are now penalised regardless [...]
HMRC tax refunds – beware of phishing emails!
You may have heard the news today that approximately 6 million people will be receiving tax refunds averaging £400 each. This news is guaranteed to lead to bogus emails claiming to be from HM Revenue & Customs. These emails will probably ask you for your credit card details so that HMRC can issue the refund. [...]
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