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January key tax dates

1 – Due date for payment of Corporation Tax for the year ended 31 March 2016

14 – Return and payment of CT61 tax due for quarter to 31 December 2016

19/22 – PAYE/NIC, student loan and CIS deductions due for month to 5/1/2017 or quarter 3 of 2016/17 for small employers

31 – Deadline for filing 2016 Self Assessment personal, partnership and trust Tax Returns – £100 first penalty for late filing even if no tax is due or tax due is paid on time

– Balancing self assessment payment due…

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January questions and answers

Q. I am thinking of renting out a small outbuilding that I own to a friend so that he can store his work equipment in it when he’s not using it. The rent is likely to be less than £1,000 a year. Will I have to declare this income to HMRC on a self-assessment return? My tax affairs are quite straight-forward – I am employed and currently I don’t need to send in a tax return.

A. Two new annual tax allowances of £1,000 each are being introduced from…

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Disguised remuneration and the self-employed

Following the announcement in the Autumn Statement, HMRC have published the details of a measure designed to tackle the future use of avoidance schemes currently being used by some self-employed people to avoid paying income tax and NICs on their income.

The measure will also tackle the existing use of schemes involving loans with a new charge (a ‘loan charge’) on outstanding loans taken out as part of avoidance arrangements. This charge will apply if tax is not paid on the loan and the loan is not repaid by…

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Company cars: ultra-low emissions vehicles

At Budget 2016, the government said it would consult over the summer on changes to the ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV) bands for taxing company cars to ‘focus incentives on the very cleanest cars‘. As a result of the consultation, HMRC have now published details of eleven new bands, which will be introduced for ULEVs with emissions below 75gCO2/km from 2020/21, including a separate zero emission band.

Some of the lowest CO2 bands are based on the ‘electric range’ of the vehicle, as well as the CO2 emissions. This is…

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Abolition of Class 2 NICs

Originally announced at Budget 2016, the 2016 Autumn Statement confirmed that Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will be abolished from April 2018, hopefully achieving the desired effect of simplifying National Insurance for the self-employed and making the system fairer for employed and self-employed individuals.

At the same time as the abolition of Class 2 NICs, the system for Class 4 NICs will also be reformed to include a new threshold – to be called the ‘small profits limit’ (SPL). The amount of the SPL for 2018/19 is yet…

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Changes to the VAT flat rate scheme

In a surprise announcement in the 2016 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that changes are to be made to the existing flat rate scheme for VAT (FRS) in order to tackle perceived ‘aggressive abuse’. The changes, which will take effect from 1 April 2017, are designed to ‘reduce the incentive for firms and agencies to move employees to self-employment to exploit VAT simplification aimed at small businesses’. The subsequent HMRC policy paper published on 5 December sets out the details of the changes, which will affect any users,…

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December Questions and Answers

Q. I live near the Millennium Coastal Path and I’m considering renting out my spare room via Air BnB to walkers and cyclists. Would this be considered a business and should tell the tax man?

A. Firstly, it is important that you make sure you have a freehold arrangement on your property. A recent tribunal ruled that a flat owner was breaking the terms of her leasehold contract by renting out a room this way, since her contract stipulated that hers was a private residence only.

If you have a…

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December key tax dates

19/22 – PAYE/NIC, student loan and CIS deductions due for month to 5/12/2016

30 – Deadline for 2015/16 self assessment online returns to be filed if you are an employee and want tax underpaid to be collected by adjustment to your 2017/18 PAYE code (for underpayments of up to £3,000 only)

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December questions and answers

Q. My wife doesn’t work. Can she transfer her unused personal tax allowance to me?

A. Since April 2015, it has been possible for a spouse or civil partner who is not liable to income tax or not liable above the basic rate for a tax year, to transfer part of their personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner, provided that the recipient of the transfer is not liable to income tax above the basic rate.

The transferor’s personal allowance will be reduced by the same amount. For 2015/16…

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A Gentle Change of Weather From The Autumn Statement

As expected, Chancellor Phillip Hammond’s Autumn Statement was a cautious one, offering perhaps a small dip in temperature, but no impending storms for the coming months.

However, he did raise some points which small business owners should take note of:

From April 2017 businesses which use the flat rate scheme to account for VAT, and firms who supply services rather than goods, will need to check the level of costs they incur to make sure they are using the correct flat rate.

If purchases of goods are below certain limits they…

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