When you register your business for VAT you can reclaim the VAT charge on goods you acquired within the previous four years, and on services provided to your business within the last six months. As long as the items were used for your business, and you still held the goods (as stock or business assets) at the date of the VAT registration, you can claim back the VAT on your first VAT return.
However, the VAT man has recently changed his view on exactly how much VAT you can…
Read MoreIf you have received a penalty for late filing of your personal tax return it is possible to get it cancelled if all of the following conditions are met:
– the penalty relates to your tax return for 2013/14;
– you have now submitted that tax return to HMRC;
– your appeal against the penalty includes a reasonable excuse for the late filing.
The reasonable excuses that HMRC will accept include; computer faults encountered while submitting the return, unexpected postal delays (only applicable to paper tax returns), life-changing events such as the…
Read MoreEmployers are supposed to be warned in advance that a penalty for a late PAYE report is due. The HMRC computer system should send an electronic notice through the PAYE online system, but in some cases those electronic notices have not arrived. If you have received a late filing penalty for PAYE we need to check if any of the following conditions apply:
Three-day grace period
In February 2015 HMRC announced that full payment submission (FPS) reports could be submitted up to three days after the day on which the…
Read MoreHMRC has started the tax reconciliation process for the majority of taxpayers who are taxed under PAYE. This may include you or your relatives, as this reconciliation also covers those in receipt of the State Retirement Pension and private pensions.
If the HMRC computer system finds there is a difference between the tax collected under PAYE and the amount due for the tax year to 5 April 2015, it will issue a form P800 which includes a tax computation. Even if we are authorised to deal with HMRC on…
Read MoreIf you provide clothes for your staff to wear at work you need to be aware of the tax and VAT implications which may vary according to the items provided.
Where the items provided constitute a uniform or protective clothing which is needed to perform the job,the cost is tax deductible for the business and the VAT can be reclaimed. There is no taxable benefit in kind for the employee.
If the clothes are not considered to be a “uniform” and can’t qualify as protective clothing, the tax treatment depends…
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) provides some very attractive tax incentives for investors who subscribe for shares in small companies. If you are thinking of attracting investors using the EIS you should first get an advance assurance from HMRC that your company will qualify.
However, HMRC has recently changed the conditions under which it will give that advanced assurance. It will no longer grant assurance for an EIS application if the company is:
– over 7 years from its first sale and has not received funding under the EIS, or…
Read MoreIf you are involved with sales of UK residential property where the buyer or seller is tax-resident outside of the UK, you need to be aware of a new tax that came into effect on 6 April 2015: non-resident CGT (NR CGT).
The NR CGT charge is applied at different rates according to whether the seller is a non-resident closely-held company, fund, individual, personal representative or trustee. It applies to gains made in the period from 6 April 2015 to the disposal date of the property, so a small…
Read MoreAs the sole owner/director of your company you face a dilemma over how to extract income from that company. If you pay yourself a salary of more than £8,060 per year you will have to pay class 1 NIC at the rate of 12% on the excess pay above that threshold up to £42,385 pa. However, income tax is not due until your salary tops £10,600 (the value of your personal allowance for 2015/16).
One solution is to take a salary of up to £8,060 and any further income…
Read MoreHave you received a letter from The Pension Regulator (TPR) telling you to “ACT NOW” to prepare for auto-enrolment? The letter gives you just a few weeks to nominate a contact to receive communications about auto-enrolment, with the threat of fines or prosecution if you don’t take action.
The “staging date” for your business will be stated in the letter. This is the date by which you must have a pension scheme ready for your employees to join, if you do indeed need one.
A large number of…
Read MoreThe annual tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED) now applies to residential properties worth over £1m that are owned by a company, or a partnership with one or more corporate members, or in some cases a unit trust.
The ATED charge starts at £7,000 per year for properties worth over £1m but no more than £2m, and increases in steps to £218,200 per year for properties worth over £20m. This tax is normally payable to HMRC by 30 April within the year that charge applies to, which starts…
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