Monthly Archives: September 2019

HMRC has published a check list of issues you will need to deal with prior to 31 October 2019. The check list has been sent to all businesses that already trade with the EU or the rest of the world. The text of the letter is reproduced below, and this contains the links to the…

The short answer to this question is a resounding “no”, but as always with tax, there are exceptions. Obviously, if you are in business and not VAT registered, you cannot reclaim the VAT added to any of your purchases. If you are VAT registered HMRC has published the following guidance for VAT recovery when acquiring…

If you own a small limited company your shares entitle you to draw a return on your shareholding – in common parlance these returns are called dividends. A company can only pay dividends if it has current or accumulated tax-paid reserves. For most smaller companies this will be described as reserves or retained profits on…

A reminder that you can avoid the hefty car fuel benefit charge if you drive a company car and your employer pays for your private fuel. One way to achieve this is to repay your company for the private petrol provided. Many employers have an arrangement with their company car drivers to obtain reimbursement of…

There is nothing more intriguing that the notion we may be due untold riches from undisclosed sources. For example, do you have any premium bonds, and did you notify the registrar the last time you moved to a new house? And did you know that the estates of deceased persons whose beneficiaries or family cannot…

December is probably the second most popular trading year end for businesses; the most popular being the 31 March. Your end of year planning should include a review of your results – prior to your year end – so that there is an opportunity to make any advantageous changes. From our perspective, there is nothing…

Just one month to go until the so-called “Domestic Reverse Charge” will apply to VAT registered traders who are also registered to use the Construction Industry Scheme. There has been an awful lot of commentary in the press claiming that from 1 October, building contractors will be lumbered with paying their sub-contractors’ VAT. Perhaps a…

If you are starting to look forward to the forthcoming end-of-year and Christmas celebrations, and we could all do with a bit of festive cheer, you may find the following article useful: it sets out the rules and regulations that qualify such events for a tax-free status: no benefits in kind, tax or NIC consequences.…

Earlier this year we highlighted the tax concession afforded by the so-called Trivial Benefit rules. We said: It is possible to make small tax-free payments to employees, including directors… Employers and employees don’t have to pay tax on such a benefit if all of the following apply: it cost you £50 or less to provide,…

If there was a measure of stability in UK politics, we would be expecting the usual dispatch-box presentation by the Chancellor before Christmas. The annual budget is usually presented November each year. This may still happen this year, but present uncertainties regarding the Brexit outcome, and the present government’s slim majority may scupper that timetable…