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Tax Insider (Last 3 Months)
As part of our special February offer, we are giving away the last three months of the Tax Insider Magazine absolutely free as part of your free trial!
Here is what tax busting strategies, secrets and tips are covered...
MAY 2012
- Charity Begins at Home...Using Charitable Legacies to Reduce your Inheritance Tax Bill
Many people leave a legacy to charity in their Will. Such legacies are exempt from inheritance tax (IHT), and from April 2012, there is a reduction in the rate of IHT on the rest of their estate if... - Child Benefit – the Changes Explained
Following many months of speculation, we now know that Child Benefit will be withdrawn for some taxpayers by way of an income tax charge... - How To Check if a VAT Number is Valid
When a business sets up a new purchase ledger account for example, it is good practice to check the supplier’s VAT number because, if it is invalid, so is the tax invoice - and HMRC may disallow ... - CGT: 18% or 28%? You Decide!
Please note - The rates used in this article assume the Budget 2012 proposals are implemented. For the tax year 2012-13, individuals are liable to capital gains tax (CGT) at rates of... - High Earners - How to Avoid the Loss of the Personal Allowance - and Save Tax at 60%!
The personal allowance is a valuable benefit as it reduces your taxable income. However, if you earn in excess of £100,000, then the personal allowance reduces as follows... - The GAAR – What Does it Mean?
The proposed introduction of the GAAR (‘general anti-abuse rule’) as announced in the 2012 Budget has placed focus on HMRC’s special units for the very rich and ... - Small Businesses – Tax Made Simple
Small business may soon be able to abandon the ‘accruals’ basis of accounting and compute their profits on a ‘cash’ basis. This will make...
APRIL 2012
- 10 Tax-Saving Tips!
This article shows you ten simple ways to make sure that you are making the most of the tax breaks on offer. 1. Personal Allowance Everyone is entitled to a tax-free personal allowance - including... - How Can a Business Claim Back VAT Without an Invoice?
Invoicing rules - The normal rules are that HMRC expects a business to obtain a purchase invoice from a supplier in order to recover the input tax that it is charged. If the purchase is for over £250 excluding VAT you will need a full tax invoice but for purchases... - What is “A Part of a Business”? – Good News for Entrepreneurs’ Relief!
The capital allowances for expenditure on plant and machinery will become much less generous for expenditure “incurred” after 5 April 2012 (31 March for limited companies).At present, the first £100,000 of such expenditure can be claimed in full as an expense of the year, and any remaining expenditure is.. - “Pilot” Trusts – What are They?
IHT charges arise on discretionary trusts every ten years on the value of the trust property at that time and also on the value of any property which leaves the trust (if for example it is appointed out to one or more beneficiaries of the trust). The maximum charge at a ten year anniversary is... - How You Can Use your Spouse or Civil Partner for Tax Planning!
The following tax strategies apply to you if you have a spouse or civil partner. To a lesser extent, there are some tax strategies that may apply... - Corporate Partners – Current tax Advantages
When there is high profitability in partnerships there are concerns regarding the ”double blow” of Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NIC) and the 50% rate of income tax. The current “fashion” is to use a limited company (“NewCo”) as an integrated part of the commercial enterprise. One distinct advantage of the limited company is ... - How to Pay More Than £4 per Week Tax-Free to Homeworkers
The taxman has increased the amount that employers can pay `no questions asked’ as a tax-free allowance to workers who work at home to £4 per week from 6 April 2012. However, this is not a maximum amount...
MARCH 2012
- Company Cars to Family Members – Avoiding a Pitfall
Where two members of the same family, working for the same employer, are each provided with a company car, they will usually each be taxed on the benefit of the car made available to them. A particular issue arises if... - Claiming Back VAT on Clothing
The recovery of VAT on clothing bought for you and your staff can result in disputes with HMRC.They say that the VAT incurred by a taxable person on uniforms or protective clothing worn by themselves or their employees in the performance of their duties can be treated as... - When is Expenditure “Incurred” for Capital Allowances?
The capital allowances for expenditure on plant and machinery will become much less generous for expenditure “incurred” after 5 April 2012 (31 March for limited companies).At present, the first £100,000 of such expenditure can be claimed in full as an expense of the year, and any remaining expenditure is... - “Deathbed Gifts”: What are they?
For many, I suspect the phrase “deathbed gifts” conjures up someone lying in bed ill and, with a dying breath, utters in a barely audible voice: “I want you to have my Porsche 911” and then... - Wills and Unmarried Partners – Tips and Traps
In this day and age, around half the marriageable population co-habits; they raise families, and conduct their business and financial affairs as if married. The tax system is definitely skewed towards married couples or civil partners (included in the text as ‘married’), with more generous tax breaks than... - Property and Capital Gains Tax – Plan Ahead!
There are many who take a very blasé “mine by right” approach to the principal private residence and capital gains tax (CGT). There have, however, been some recent Tribunal cases which have proven that HMRC respect this very favourable tax relief but do come down very heavily on anyone who... - Company Directors and NI – How does it Work?
Directors of small and family companies are in the fortunate position of being able to decide when they are paid and how much they are paid. They are not compelled to receive a regular salary on the same day each month and have the flexibility to vary both the frequency and the amount of any payments.Unlike tax, National Insurance does not work on a cumulative basis. This means that in the absence of special rules...