Tax Insider: The Monthly UK Tax Newsletter

Lottery winnings of £1m are not exempt from inheritance tax (IHT) once they become part of a person's estate. Winnings paid out to members of any formal National Lottery or syndicate are exempt from IHT provided a written agreement was drawn up before the win; this ensures each person receives what legally belongs to them within the agreement rather than a taxable ‘gift’ from the first named lottery participant. 

Jon Golding looks at ways of securing a £1m IHT-free exemption for gifts and legacies.

When it comes to working out the potential inheritance tax (IHT) liability on an individual's estate, it might be assumed that funds in a joint account belong equally to the joint account holders (e.g., mother and adult son).

This might actually be the case – but not automatically so. As with many other questions in tax, the answer is: it depends.

This article considers the IHT treatment of joint accounts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the position may differ (see the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Inheritance Tax Manual at IHTM15051 and IHTM15054).

Mark McLaughlin warns that it is not necessarily straightforward to ascertain how much money in a joint account belongs to each account holder for inheritance tax purposes.

When the actor and comedian Rik Mayall died in June 2014, many were astonished to learn that he did so intestate (i.e., he had no will outlining what was to happen to his estate); there was clearly no tax planning either, resulting in a £60,000 inheritance tax bill. 

Whilst this was a fairly high-profile intestacy case, over 51,000 letters of administration were issued in the UK in 2024 (i.e. where estates were intestate), so Rik Mayall was not the only one.

Chris Thorpe looks at what happens to an individual’s estate on death if there is no valid will.

Businesses have to overcome a number of hurdles to claim back input tax, so it is not just as simple as having a purchase invoice.
Any input tax claimed by a business must relate to a supply that has actually taken place. For example, where a payment has been made and an invoice received but the goods or services were never physically supplied, input tax should not be claimed as no supply has actually taken place.

Andrew Needham looks at recovering input tax and warns that a business may need more evidence than the purchase invoice.

Putting money away for retirement is generally sensible, and pensions are highly tax-efficient ways of saving for the future. 
However, those with income between £260,000 and £360,000 have a tapered annual allowance (possibly as low as £10,000); high pension contributors may hit their annual allowance maximum (£60,000) and those who have already started accessing their pension have a separate limit (i.e., £10,000 with no carry forward). 
What if someone wants to pay more into pensions, or to help out others with their retirement savings?

Tristan Noyes looks at the implications and opportunities of funding other people’s pensions.

Most property owners who let out a room will be aware of rent-a-room relief, the income tax exemption for up to £7,500 a year of gross receipts (£3,750 if income is shared with another) from furnished accommodation in their only or main property. They will also expect any gain on disposal to be covered by capital gains tax (CGT) principal private residence (PPR) relief. 

Jennifer Adams considers the capital gains tax position when someone takes one or more lodgers into their home. 

Companies cannot deduct capital expenditure when calculating their taxable profits; relief is instead given through the capital allowances system. 

There are a number of allowances available for expenditure on plant and machinery, and these should be used wisely to maximise relief.

Sarah Bradford explores the capital allowance claims available to companies, and how best to use them.

The employment-related securities legislation deals with arrangements involving shares and securities provided by reason of employment where the full value of the employment reward provided to the employee is not included in the salary package and is charged to tax.  

Jennifer Adams considers the tax implications of shares in a family company being awarded or gifted to family members of employees. 

When HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) opens a tax return enquiry, the natural reaction of most taxpayers is to speculate about the reason why their tax return has been selected. In fact, HMRC does not need an excuse to open a tax return enquiry; a small proportion of tax returns are simply selected at random. . 

Mark McLaughlin looks at whether a taxpayer can find out if an HMRC enquiry has been opened as the result of an accusation made by a third party. 

When considering the tricky matter of remuneration planning, there are two things to consider; the amount of remuneration, and what form it takes. 

Chris Thorpe looks at what to watch out for with regard to paying employees and directors.

Mark McLaughlin looks at company purchases of own shares and warns not to become too focused on the more difficult rules for capital treatment. 

A company purchase of its own shares from a shareholder is a popular ‘exit’ strategy when an individual shareholder is retiring, or a dissenting shareholder is departing.