Latest Topical Tax Planning Ideas

HMRC has amended guidance on the tax treatment of electric charging of company cars and vans at residential properties.   Many business owners will have purchased an electric car or van, owned within a company, over the last few years, attracted by the generous business and personal tax treatments. Where this Electric Vehicle (EV) has…

The ‘gifts out of surplus income’ exemption is a powerful, yet often forgotten about, Inheritance Tax (IHT) exemption. As the name suggests lifetime gifts made from surplus income are immediately exempt from IHT, provided that certain conditions are met.   To qualify for this valuable relief, the following conditions need to be satisfied: The gifts…

As today is GCSE results day, parents whose child is staying in education or training have only until 31 August to re-register with HMRC if they wish to continue receiving child benefit. Such re-registration will continue entitlement to receive this benefit until the child reaches 18.   If relevant to you, you should have already…

As we approach another tax year end our thoughts turn to any tax planning that can be undertaken. You can find a link to our tax planning guide as a reminder of the basic planning opportunities to be considered each year. But with a Budget looming on 15 March 2023, it would be prudent to…

Divorce and CGT Under current legislation, married couples and civil partners can transfer chargeable assets between them without incurring CGT under the ‘no gain, no loss’ principle. However, for separating couples, this only applies until the end of the tax year of separation.   A couple who separated in February 2022 could therefore only transfer…

For those clients that prepare self-assessment personal tax returns, 31 January is usually tax payment day. This tax will primarily be based on your personal income for the tax year ended 5 April 2022, potentially made up of 2 components: The balancing payment for 2021/22 (total 2021/22 tax less 31-Jan-22 and 31-Jul-22 payments on account).…

With the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement scheduled for 17 November, a lot of Sunday papers today have pieces on what changes we might expect. With a predicted £50bn hole in the Country’s current annual finances (caused by growth downgrades and higher interest rates on debt repaymemts), any such changes are likely to be material. So what…

If you were interested in offering your employees the Cycle to Work Scheme, there are three main methods you could use:   Salary Sacrifice Loan Pooled cycles   Method 1: Salary Sacrifice Under this method, your employee would be agreeing to sacrificing part of their salary before tax and you would provide the hire of…

For around the last 20 years or so, the tax treatment of company cars has continually become less attractive. The value of the benefits in kind, taxable on the employee, has increased quicker than inflation, and the capital allowance tax deduction, for the business, has become more and more diluted. As part of its plans…

  Tax planning is not often at the top of the to-do list when a couple are separating, however, the timing of asset transfers can make a huge difference for tax purposes.   The rules as things stand   Married couples and civil partners can transfer chargeable assets between them without incurring capital gains tax…