How your pension savings can help finance your business. As traditional loans fall out of favour with increasing numbers of business owners, you may be looking for an alternative route for financing – and your pension could be the answer. Data from the British Business Bank shows that in 2017 the number of small businesses…

What are the tax implications? People run businesses for a variety of reasons from passion to pride, but making a living is high up the list for most people. How do you go about drawing profit from your business, and doing so efficiently? If your business operates as a partnership or sole trader, the profits…

A think tank is calling for inheritance tax to be abolished, as part of a set of proposals for major reform to the UK tax system. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published its 10-part plan for economic reform, which includes replacing the system of inheritance tax with a new ‘lifetime gifts tax’. Under…

Chancellor Philip Hammond has opted to scrap the planned abolition of class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs). The Government was originally due to abolish class 2 NICs for the self-employed from 6 April 2018, but the move was delayed for 12 months in November 2017 and has now been abandoned. The policy, which was first…

The Treasury is reportedly considering abolishing the dividend allowance in Autumn Budget 2018. The Daily Telegraph claims Chancellor Philip Hammond has business owners, directors and shareholders in his sights to help fund a Government pledge to increase spending on the NHS. Hammond cut the dividend allowance from £5,000 to £2,000 in Spring Statement 2017, with…

How has devolution affected what tax you pay? First-time buyers in England, Northern Ireland – and for a short time in Wales – were the biggest winners in the most recent shake-up to affect property taxes in Autumn Budget 2017. Philip Hammond’s headline measure was to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes worth…

How to minimise business tax in 2018/19. If there’s one thing that keeps us awake at night it’s the thought of how many British businesses are failing to claim capital allowances to which they are entitled – worth billions of pounds across the board, according to some estimates. Capital allowances provide the mechanism for tax…

VAT creates the biggest administration burden for around two-thirds of businesses in the UK, research from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has claimed. The report, which polled more than 1,100 businesses of all sizes, found that 64% were bamboozled by an array of rates and rules to comply with VAT legislation. This percentage is…

The Treasury fetched a record high of £5.2 billion in inheritance tax receipts last year, according to statistics published by HMRC. Inheritance tax receipts increased 8% year-on-year in 2017/18 to continue a long-term trend, which began when the nil-rate band was frozen at £325,000 with effect from 6 April 2009. Since then, inheritance tax receipts…

Philip Hammond’s decision to abolish stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for most first-time buyers on all properties worth up to £300,000 saved homeowners £284 million in the first half of 2018. The chancellor scrapped SDLT in Autumn Budget 2017 for most people taking their first steps on the property ladder in England, Northern Ireland and…

HMRC has confirmed that digital reporting requirements will be relaxed during the first year of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT-registered businesses. From April 2019, businesses with annual taxable turnover of more than £85,000 will be required to maintain digital records for VAT and submit quarterly returns alongside the annual tax return. Under the requirements…

How can you reduce your capital gains tax bill in 2018/19? Whether you’re a buy-to-let landlord, a shareholder, an art dealer or you fall somewhere in between, the chances are you will be familiar with paying capital gains tax (CGT). CGT is payable when you ‘dispose’ of a certain item and make money from the…

How to make this tax break work for you. Millions of married couples and civil partners in the UK are eligible for the marriage allowance, but take-up has remained subdued since the tax break came into force on 6 April 2015. Almost half of the UK’s eligible couples failed to claim their slice of £1.3…

Over-40s in England should pay a new tax to help cover the costs of providing care for the elderly, MPs have said. Two influential House of Commons’ committees called for the introduction of a social care premium, which would also see retirees made to pay if they have lucrative pensions or investments. The money generated…