Tax Advice

Once you’ve set up an incorporated business and become a director, you have to be smart about how you extract profit to avoid paying more tax than you need to.  There are three main routes for a director to extract profits from their own limited company – salary, dividends and pension contributions. Usually, combining these… Continue reading How to extract profits out of a company…..

If you’re looking to join the 4.3 million people in the UK who made the jump into self-employment, you might be wondering how to start your new business.  Assuming you’ve weighed up the pros and cons involved and decided launching a startup is right for you, one of the first things to consider is how… Continue reading How to structure your business….

HMRC issues last reminder for 2020/21 personal tax returns  Some 407,510 startups were created during the 2020/21 tax year, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.  Those who are unincorporated require a unique taxpayer (UTR) code to file their first tax returns via self-assessment for the 2020/21 tax year. But the tax authority is experiencing… Continue reading HMRC is reminding taxpayers that the deadline to submit 2020/21 personal tax returns through self-assessment is on or before midnight on 31 January 2022.

The construction industry remains one of the UK’s key sectors, which also helps to underpin the UK economy, despite experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In September 2021, construction output grew by 1.3% on the previous month – placing the sector just 1% below its pre-pandemic level – and it’s still worth a decent… Continue reading The construction industry scheme minefield…..

Making Tax Digital for income tax (MTD for ITSA) looks certain to affect sole traders and landlords from April 2024, following the recent news of a one-year delay.  This was the latest in a long line of delays and deferrals in the rollout of MTD, which was first proposed by then-Chancellor George Osborne in late… Continue reading Everything you need to know before April 2024 about Making Tax Digital

Reforms to the ways in which unincorporated businesses pay income tax – known as basis periods – will go ahead, one year later than planned.  Proposals and draft legislation were published in July 2021, suggesting the new rules would commence from 6 April 2023.  Instead, sole traders and most business partnerships will be subject to… Continue reading Sole traders and other unincorporated businesses reporting change

A new levy on large residential property developers’ profits intends to raise around £2 billion over the next 10 years, starting from next spring.  The ‘cladding tax’ will be a 4% tax on developers with company profits of £25 million or more from residential development, although student and build-to-rent developments are exempt. It expects to… Continue reading Large property developers need to watch out in 22/23

Increasing house prices raise inheritance tax risk.  Soaring house prices coupled with certain thresholds being frozen in the most recent Budget have the potential to drag more estates into the inheritance tax net over the coming years.  Back in March 2021, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the main inheritance tax thresholds will remain frozen at their… Continue reading IHT planning – The basics

The number of savers who breached the annual allowance and the lifetime allowance increased in 2018/19, according to government statistics. Figures from HMRC show 34,220 people reported saving more in their pension pots than the £40,000 annual allowance in 2018/19, triggering total tax charges worth £817 million.  The amount of people who exceeded their annual… Continue reading Pensions tax traps catch out thousands more savers

The stamp duty land tax-free threshold in England and Northern Ireland reduced last month, as the tax holiday introduced in July 2020 began to be phased out.  The first cliff edge for residential property buyers came and went on 30 June 2021, marking the end of a three-month extension announced on 3 March 2021.  Buyers… Continue reading Lower stamp duty land tax threshold in place until October