Selling online but not declaring the income? Watch out – HMRC will know
Changes are afoot that will mean online sellers such as eBay will be disclosing users’ income with the tax authorities – HMRC in the UK. The same will apply to rental income so if you rent out via Airbnb for example, a property in Germany, both the UK and German authorities will be informed. Ensure, […]
Inheritance tax – the housing and stock market booms means more estates could face IHT bills
Latest estimates from HMRC are that IHT receipts will hit £5.6 billion in 2021/22 rising to £6.3 billion pounds in 2023/24. The rate of IHT is normally 40 per cent on the value of an estate above a threshold of £325,000. This threshold is frozen until 2025-26. Any unused threshold may be transferred to a […]
Should you register for VAT?
Should you register for VAT? You must register for VAT if: • you expect your VAT taxable turnover to be more than £85,000 in the next 30-day period • your business had a VAT taxable turnover of more than £85,000 over the last 12 months You must register if, by the end of any month, […]
Are you saving enough for your retirement?
You can claim state pension when you reach the state pension age. For men and women, this is currently 66. However, the state pension age is scheduled to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. But what if you want to retire before state pension age? Putting your money into a pension plan is one […]
Higher Rate taxpayers – some simple tax savings tips that are easily overlooked
If your pre-tax income exceeded £50,000 in the last tax year (2020/21) it is possible that you may have been in a higher rate tax bracket, with some of your income being taxed at 40% instead of 20%. If income exceeded £150,000 then tax at 45% might well have been paid on some of your […]
Dividends from your company – are they legal?
Only limited companies pay dividends, and these are based on the shares that have been issued to the shareholders. Sole traders, partnerships and LLPs do not pay dividends, because they do not issue shares. Limited companies can pay dividends if they have enough “profit” available to do so and this “profit” needs to allow for […]
Check those tax codes
Whilst HMRC do now review the tax position for any tax year, this does take some time to complete the exercise. It is worth keeping an eye on the information available in your Personal Tax Account – https://www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account. You may find you are paying too much tax (or, sadly, not enough tax). Which would you […]
Life Insurance for Company Directors
When it comes to life assurance, a major benefit of being a company owner is the ability to obtain that life cover tax-efficiently through the company. This type of cover, called ‘relevant life assurance’, provides the owners, directors and employees of a small business with life cover that offers financial protection to their families in […]
VAT Scale Charges
The Fuel Scale Charge simplifies the process of accounting for VAT on private usage of fuel. It basically provides for a fixed amount each VAT period to adjust for VAT on road fuel claimed where there is also private usage of the vehicle. The rates change every year and for the 12 months from 1 May […]
Should you be VAT registered?
HMRC have very sophisticated systems in place and one of these will be identifying businesses that have an annual turnover of £85,000 or more. How will they know? HMRC obtains information from many different sources, including credit card payments, sales via Amazon, eBay, etc. This data has allowed HMRC to find businesses that are not […]
