A reminder that as we age the argument that we should grant powers of attorney to trusted family members becomes increasingly relevant. A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on…
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Timing is everything
We are fast approaching the end of the 2017-18 tax year. In fact, the 31 March (or 5 April) is probably the most common trading year end date for sole traders, partnerships and limited companies. And individuals have no choice, the self-assessment tax year ends on 5 April. This being so, it is worth considering…
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Data protection essentials for 2018
From 25 May 2018, any business that stores the personal data of staff, customers, suppliers and other business contacts will need to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Basically, you will need to know what personal data you keep, where you keep it, who you share it with and how you will use…
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Sent to Coventry
The origins of the phrase, to be sent to Coventry, seem to have originated in the seventeenth century when Cromwell was purported to have sent Royalist soldiers to be imprisoned in Coventry around 1648. At the time, Coventry was a parliamentary supporter and it is likely that the hapless Cavaliers would have had a miserable…
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Do you need to submit a self-assessment tax return
According to HMRC, you are required to send in a tax return in the last tax year if: you were self-employed - you can deduct allowable expenses you got £2,500 or more in untaxed income, for example from tips or renting out a property your income from savings or investments was £10,000 or more before…
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The Budget – personal tax considerations
Notable changes are listed below: First-time buyers will pay no stamp duty on homes costing no more than £300,000. First-time buyers of homes worth between £300,000 and £500,000 will not pay stamp duty on the first £300,000. They will pay the normal rates of stamp duty on the price above that. This will save £1,660…
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The Budget – small business update
Notable changes are listed below: Although there is no change to the rate of corporation tax, maintained at 19%, HMRC is to freeze indexation allowance on corporate capital gains for disposals after 1 January 2018. From April 2018, business rate rates will rise by any increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the…
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Private pension tax relief
There was much speculation prior to the budget last month, that the tax relief for higher rate tax payers was going to be scrapped, or reduced. Many pundits were expecting a flat-rate tax deduction of 33% rather than tax relief for higher rate taxpayers of 40%. Fortunately, for those who may have been affected by…
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Company capital gains relief is frozen
Before the Autumn Budget, the capital gains tax (CGT) calculations of companies included a relief called the indexation allowance. Basically, this allowed a company to increase the acquisition cost of an asset by the annual rate of inflation. Without this relief, any CGT payable on the sale of the asset would increase. Instead of deducting…
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First time buyer bonanza
HMRC have laid out the detail of their budget plans to support first-time home buyers in their quest to buy their first home. There are fears that this strategy will simply drive up prices as demand is stimulated, and that this will replace stamp duty savings with house prices that once again move beyond the…
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