Latest Tax Planning

Use Lifetime Trusts to Save Inheritance Tax. With the government confirming in the last Budget that the current inheritance tax nil rate band of £325,000 will be frozen until 2018, more and more people will find the taxman taking a sizeable slice of their estate on death. Making gifts during your lifetime is one solution…

The Start of the New Tax Year is the time for OMB’s to revise their Tax Strategy. As another new tax year begins, business owner managers should review and revise their combined business and personal tax strategy: OMB Strategies 2013-14 Depending upon how much profit the business generates, whether or not your spouse is involved in…

Most popular current tax strategies for SME businesses: Remuneration ‘Minimum’ salary, balance as dividends, to avoid NIC. Manage income below higher rate tax threshold, to avoid 40% income tax . Manager income below £100k, to avoid 60% income tax trap. Salary sacrifice with employer pension contributions, childcare vouchers and other non-taxable benefits in kind Business…

Maximise R&D Tax Relief Claims. With the ability to now claim 225% tax relief on eligible costs, those making such R&D claims will need no convincing of the merits of including as much as possible within the claim. Areas, often over-looked, where this claim can be increased include: Claiming relief on all reimbursed expenses paid…

Selling Your Business on Retirement: There is an Alternative. You’ve spent a lifetime building up your business, the thought on retirement of selling out to your business rivals may be unpalatable and selling to you own management team may not be feasible; there is an alternative. Allowing your staff to take ownership through a phased transition…

Reviewing business finances just before the year end, then taking actions to influence how the year end results will look, should be a key element of the annual financial management routine for larger more pro-active businesses. Although corporation tax reduction is usually the key aim of most company pre year end planning, you should not overlook…

Examples of the most helpful and generous tax elections and claims include: s222(5a) TCGA 1992 (Nomination of main residence) This capital gains tax election, often referred to as ‘flipping’, enables taxpayers, who own and reside in more than one home, to inform HMRC which of these homes is their principal private residence. For those who…

Certain payments made by businesses on behalf of employees are tax free personally, so are useful for profit extraction and within flexible remuneration structures: Employer pension scheme contributions (up to £60,000 per employee per annum, plus potential ‘catch-up’ from previous 3 years. This assumes your personal income is not above £260,000 and you are not…