My client ran his decorating business for three years as a sole trader and is now going to incorporate. As a sole trader his turnover never quite reached the registration threshold but he will VAT register when he incorporates as a lot of his customers are now contractors. Will he be able to recover VAT on his limited company registration on the van, tools, and equipment he bought as a sole trader and will still use in the company?
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Anne (aged 66) and Brian (aged 68) are a couple who could have started to draw their state pension a few years ago but they chose instead to keep on running their own trading company and defer taking it. From a look at their records for 2018/19, it’s clear that they both started to draw on their state pension in the year but with different effects on their income tax calculations for the year because Brian has received a lump sum but Anne hasn’t.
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My husband and I jointly own a rental property, the income of which we declare 50:50 on our Tax Returns. I have been promoted and will be a higher rate taxpayer going forward. Is it possible for my husband to be taxed on a greater proportion of the rental income as he is a basic rate taxpayer?
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CONTAINED IN THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE:
– QUARTER OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE UK EXPECT TO GO BUST BY 2024
– EXTENSION OF OFF-PAYROLL RULES INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR COULD FACE DELAY
The UK tax system is complicated but research and development
(R&D) tax credits can be especially tricky to understand.
That’s partly because what counts as R&D, and what amounts
to true innovation, is judged on a case-by-case basis against
criteria that can seem almost abstract.
You’ve got a business idea, you’ve got the skills, the concept,
the motivation and maybe even someone that’s keen to pay for
your services, but where do you start? What will you call your
business? What business structure will suit it best?
It may be that as your business grows you run through several
different structures, but most firms will set up one way and
remain just that, even as their turnover grows or falls.
My client has left their main residence to their children through a discretionary trust in their will. If a deed of variation is done within 2 years of the date of death would the residence nil rate band still be available?
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My client company has a year-end of 31st May 2019 and throughout the year the company incurred capital expenditure that qualifies for the annual investment allowance (AIA). How do we determine the amount of AIA available and how do we allocate the AIA to the qualifying expenditure given that the amount of AIA went up from £200,000 to £1m in January 2019?
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Many of my small company clients often have overdrawn director loan accounts. When considering minimising the beneficial loan charge, what interest can be taken into account to reduce or cancel the benefit charge?
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My client has been informed by an employee that they are planning to undergo IVF treatment, do they have to make any special accommodations for them at work?
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My client has asked about the prospect of placing their staff on lay off or short-time working whilst business is slow. What should they know about this?
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My client is a recently retired police dog handler. He has decided to start up a business selling dog-training and pet accessories online through Amazon. Do you have some pointers for what we need to think about in terms of VAT compliance obligations?
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My Client owns 100% of an investment property and wishes to transfer a beneficial interest in the property to his wife. I have just read an article on the internet that states he can do this by passing on a 99% entitlement to the income from the property but only a 1% interest in the capital proceeds. The author claims that HMRC Manual PIM1030 supports this view.
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CONTAINED IN THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE:
– DELAY TO CONTROVERSIAL LOAN CHARGE REVIEW LEAVES THOUSANDS IN LIMBO
– MINISTRY OF JUSTICE FINALLY ABANDONS PLANS TO INCREASE PROBATE FEES
So you’ve got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner.
But then again, just as you’ve geared yourself up to commit, all
sorts of midnight worries start to creep in.
Is now the time? Are people spending money? What about the
sluggish housing market? What about Brexit? And the state of
the local high street – does anyone even go there anymore?
With only two months left until the 31 January deadline for online returns, self-assessment is very much on our minds.
There’s a first flurry of activity around the deadline for paper
filing at the end of October, now far behind us, but December
and January are when things really get hectic.
Australia has used a so-called “backpacker tax” to illegally tax foreign workers from eight countries, according to a landmark ruling.
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How will the Employment Allowance reform coming into play from April 2020 affect my business?
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A business has started paying fee protection insurance. The business has taken out the cover directly with the insurance company. Will it be allowable for tax?
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We have been approached by a new client who is VAT registered, and their business activity is the hire of audio visual equipment. They are looking to invoice a Canadian music company for the hire of sound and lighting equipment.
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Client is adamant that their car dealer has advised them that VAT incurred on the purchase of an electric car is recoverable in full.
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My client has a gift shop with a gallery selling artworks on behalf of local artists, some of whom are registered for VAT. We charge commission on sales; on what values do we declare VAT?
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My client has been asked to supply footballs for use by a youth team in Kenya. They will deliver direct to the shipper, but will invoice a UK charity. Please could you confirm whether they can zero-rate the sale under the export rules?
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Does my client need to give staff time off work to vote in the upcoming general election?
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Does my client have to provide a reference for a former employee?
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My client wants to know if they need to do anything, in particular, to support vegan employees at work?
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My client wants to introduce an employee recognition programme, what sort of things do they need to think about?
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Fraud costs the UK around £190 billion a year, with businesses bearing almost three quarters – £140bn – of those losses.
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From 6 April 2020, HMRC is proposing three significant changes which will potentially increase the capital gains tax paid on the disposal of any residential property by an individual.
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CONTAINED IN THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE:
– MESSAGES AIM TO PROMOTE PENSION SAVING TO THE SELF-EMPLOYED
– STAMP DUTY RECEIPTS IN ENGLAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND DOWN 7% IN 2018/19
It’s been an eventful few years in British politics, but 2019 has been something else again with one jolt after another.
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Large and medium-sized organisations have just six months left to prepare for changes to off-payroll working rules, which are due to extend to the private sector next spring. (more…)
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As the global financial crisis began to bite in 2008, central banks in several nations took action, attempting to shock the world economy back to life by slashing base interest rates. (more…)
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INCLUDED IN THIS MONTHS ARTICLE:
– MOST VAT-REGISTERED BUSINESSES ARE SIGNED UP FOR MAKING TAX DIGITAL
– SMALL EMPLOYERS RISK LOSING THE EMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE IN 2020 (more…)
My client is interviewing for a vacancy and an applicant has chosen to disclose that they have a birthmark that qualifies as a disability – what are their responsibilities here?
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My client is an independent mortgage advisor, who is not VAT registered. Her turnover is above £85,000 and all of her income is either commission, which is paid by UK lenders, and flat fees received from customers seeking a mortgage. (more…)
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My client has an employee who is on a probationary period, however they have had a lot of absences during this time and my client wants to dismiss them. What are the rules around this?
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My client is about to take on a part-time worker for the first time, what sort of things do they need to know?
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My client recently purchased an empty 3 bedroom bungalow that hasn’t been lived in for 4 years. He intends to spend £30k extending and refurbishing the property into a 4 bedroom house, which he and his family will move in to. (more…)
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My client, an individual, recently made me aware of a loan he had made to a trading company which has since ceased to trade and become insolvent. (more…)
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My client is a car dealer and operates the margin scheme. He has purchased a classic car which is a collectors’ item and has imported the car into the UK from the US. I understand that the car was involved in some historic event in the US. My client has been told that he can sell the car at the reduced rate of 5%. Is this correct?
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My client has suggested there may be certain instances where staff will be exempt from receiving the national minimum wage. When exactly will this apply?
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My client wants to start holding performance appraisals with their employees on a regular basis to encourage their development. What sort of things do they need to consider?
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My client wants to know if they have to offer their employees paid bereavement leave by law?
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My client had to close down work for two days last week due to impact of flooding caused by the severe weather. Do they have to pay staff who were scheduled to work on these days?
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My client purchased a car for use in her business, which the dealer said was a qualifying car. My client took this to mean that she can recover the VAT but I disagree. Obviously my view has not gone down well with the client, but am I correct?
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One of my clients deregistered recently and has now received a letter from HMRC asking about a property that he bought four years ago for £150,000 and opted to tax. Although there was no VAT chargeable on the purchase, the property was empty at the time and in quite a poor condition as the seller was reluctant to spend money on it, so my client also spent £100,000 doing it up ready to let out. He opted to tax so that he would be able to recover the VAT on this refurbishment, and until deregistering has charged VAT on the rent. What does he need to do? As he has already cancelled his registration is he going to receive a huge assessment? The property is now worth around £300,000.
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How should my client handle a short-service employee with poor timekeeping?
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Interest Rate Hedging Products (IRHP) Redress payments has been a popular campaign for HMRC and it is evident that they continue to act on the Third Party Information supplied by the banks to profile for enquiry cases. (more…)
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Are Jaffa Cakes biscuits or, as the name implies, cakes?
This question is one of the most famous examples of the kind of debate that happens frequently in the world of VAT because precise definitions can make the difference between sink or swim for businesses that sell the products under discussion. (more…)
