My client is a Limited Company and runs a swim school, teaching children. The client’s turnover is close to £85,000. I would like to confirm that my client is making exempt supplies of education and therefore does not need to VAT register.
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TQOTW: PROFESSIONAL FEES
My clients have inquired about the possibility of claiming relief for expenses incurred in connection with closing down their company. In particular, they would like to know whether they could get tax relief for professional advice that they have taken and whether they can arrange for the company to make pension contributions on behalf of employees.
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HR EXPERT: JURY SERVICE
My client has been informed by an employee that they have been summoned to attend jury service, what are the rules around this?
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TQOTW: BIK ON LIFE POLICY WITH CRITICAL ILLNESS
My employer has heard of a new combined life policy which also covers critical illnesses and claims that there is no taxable benefit on the premiums. Is this correct?
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VQOTW: HOME OFFICE
My client is the director of an interior design company. The company rents a small unit for storing stock, but this space is not really suitable for use as an office. She is exploring the possibility of having a home-office erected in her garden. Could you please advise on the VAT recoverability of such a project?
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VQOTW: FLAT RATE PRE-REGISTRATION VAT
My client is about to register for VAT and wants to use the flat rate scheme as she meets the conditions and it would be beneficial to her. However, her intention is to register for normal VAT initially, in order to recover pre-registration input tax, and then after the first return has been filed, switch to the flat rate scheme. Is this acceptable or will HMRC challenge it?
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May 2019 Tax Insider
Included in this months issue:
– MPs call for break-up of big four’s accountancy services
– HMRC announces delay to probate fee increase
– Landlords feeling the pinch as tax measures begin to bite
– First VAT-registered businesses enter into making tax digital
ACCOUNTING FOR CHARITIES
If you’re in charge of running a charity, you’ll know how it differs from operating a business and how its motives and goals vary.
Non-profit organisations are treated very differently under the law, and managing a charity’s accounts can offer some unique challenges as a result.
RISK ASSESSMENT AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING
It has been a challenging and eventful three years for UK businesses with a series of high-profile incidents highlighting how situations can change suddenly and often without warning.
From the continued pressure of uncertainty relating to Brexit, terrorism, fire, extreme weather and cyber-attacks, how would your business cope if it was affected by something similar?
VQOTW: MTD AND CASH ACCOUNTING
My client is a wedding and party planner, and is compulsorily VAT registered operating the cash accounting scheme. Their current system is not particularly sophisticated and they only operate using a manual cashbook. I am in the process of ensuring they are MTD compliant for their 07/19 return, but want to keep things as simple as possible for them. Can they continue to operate a cashbook in a spreadsheet format and submit via bridging software?
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VQOTW: 28 DAY RULE
My client runs a small bed and breakfast and a furnished apartment which to date has been let on an Airbnb basis with a daily linen change and cleaning service. Normally she would account for VAT on all of these stays. Now she has received an enquiry from a construction company about exclusive use of both for a period of 12 months to house some of its employees working away from home. Should she still charge VAT?
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VQOTW: INPUT TAX ON RE-REGISTERING FOR VAT
My client is a bathroom fitter and was VAT registered from January 2017 to March 2018 as he had a contract with a large developer to fit en-suites into new-build dwellings. His supplies were mostly zero-rated and he received repayments of VAT from HMRC. He bought a new commercial vehicle and specialist tooling in August 2016 on which he recovered the VAT as pre-registration input tax. On his final return, for the tax period ending 31st March 2018, he accounted for VAT on all the assets and stock on hand as a deemed supply.
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TQOTW: PPR – SELLING NOW OR DELAYING
This question is based on a call to the Advice Lines where a client never had the intention to be a landlord for very long. He had fallen into those circumstances because it had been difficult to find a buyer for his property when he moved home – not an uncommon situation. His hesitation to sell the property once the market improved resulted purely from the mortgage redemption fee that would be triggered.
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TQOTW: ENTREPRENEUR’S’ RELIEF
We recently received a question to the advice lines regarding a family company and the availability of entrepreneur’s’ relief (ER) with regard to different classes of shares in issue.
A total of 11,000 shares are in issue made up of A and B shares. Mother and father own 10,000 A shares and their adult child owns the other 1,000 B shares.
The A shares have full voting rights, full dividend and full rights on disposal of the company. The B shares have full voting rights, full dividend and no rights on disposal of the company. (more…)
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HR EXPERT: WORK EXPERIENCE
My client is considering taking on a 15-year-old schoolchild for a 2-week work experience placement. What sort of things do they need to consider?
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Registering For Making Tax Digital For VAT
The moment has come: if your business has a taxable turnover above the VAT-registration threshold, which is currently £85,000, you’re now obliged to keep records in digital form and to file your VAT returns using HMRC-approved software. (more…)
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April 2019 Tax Insider
Included in this month’s article:
– GOVERNMENT CONSULTS ON NEW STAMP DUTY SURCHARGE
– THOUSANDS FACE HUGE TAX AVOIDANCE BILLS
– MINISTERS GIVE THUMBS-UP FOR PROBATE REVAMP
– APPRENTICESHIP ‘STARTS’ FALL BY A QUARTER
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April 2019, Personal Tax Planning
With the Brexit process rumbling on, Making Tax Digital finally coming into force, and Easter around the corner, now is the time to put your financial plans in place for 2019/20. (more…)
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Landlord Tax Changes – updated for 2019
Recent budgets have seen several significant changes to the taxation of income from letting out residential property. These changes are likely to impact on the taxation of all current property landlords, as well as future decisions as to whether to remain or become a landlord. (more…)
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VQOTW: BUILDING MATERIALS
My client is a builders’ merchant and has supplied steel sheets to a customer who is building his own home. The customer has provided my client with a copy of the planning consent supporting the demolition of an existing property and the construction of a new dwelling. Can my client zero-rate the supply of the steel?
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HR EXPERT: DOGS IN WORK
My client has been asked by a couple of employees whether they can bring their dogs to work. What things do they need to consider?
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TQOTW: DEEMED DOMICILE & AUTOMATIC REMITTANCE
My client is a long-term resident of the UK for tax purposes. However, she is non-domiciled and has been using the remittance basis for her foreign income as it is below £2,000. As she will now have been here for 15 of the previous 20 tax years, will she be caught by the Deemed Domicile rules?
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VQOTW: CHARITY FUNDRAISING
Over the last few years, my client and a couple of his friends have run a small local beer and cider festival; any profits they make are given to local charities. They sell a few tickets in advance and have sponsorship/advertising income, but most sales occur on the day of the event. In the last few years, they have been below the VAT registration threshold, but with the number of people attending increasing year on year and the wonderful summer we had in 2018, they did exceed the VAT registration threshold by £800. As all the profits are donated to charity, can the client benefit from the charity fundraising exemption?
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TQOTW: THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE AND NATIONAL LIVING WAGE
Our pay period runs one week in arrears and we are due to pay employees on Friday 5th April for the work that they did during the week 25th – 31st March. What rate of pay should they be paid at, as we are aware that the National Living Wage rate has increased?
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HR EXPERT: CHANGE IN NMW
My client is wary of the new National Minimum Wage rates that will come into effect from 1st April. What things do they need to consider from an employment law perspective?
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HR EXPERT: AGENCY WORKERS RULES
My client will be taking on an agency worker for the first time in a few weeks, what things do they need to be aware of?
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TQOTW: Irrecoverable Loans
My client has made a directors loan to his personal company (he is the majority shareholder) which now cannot be repaid. Is there a loss for CGT and if so, is it a ‘clogged loss?’
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Tax Relief For Childcare Vouchers
Question
Has the tax relief for childcare vouchers ceased?
Answer (more…)
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TQOTW: Electric Car Charging
My client is an expanding local mobile care business and they are increasingly aware of the pollution that cars emit into the environment. With this in mind, they have been asked by their team whether they can look at changing the company cars to hybrid or electric cars and whether there are any incentives to do so.
Here we look at some of the recent changes and existing exemptions that may help them to make their minds up. (more…)
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TQOTW: Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles
How do the new company car tax bands favour ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs)?
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HR Expert: Failure to Issue Itemised Payslips
My client has asked me about the upcoming requirement to issue itemised payslips to workers. What will this entail? (more…)
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HR Expert: Personal Hygiene
My client has received a number of complaints from customers and staff about the personal hygiene of one of their employees. As this is a sensitive topic how should they go about addressing this with the individual? (more…)
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The politics of tax breaks
If there’s one thing accountants love, it’s identifying obscure tax reliefs to which you may be entitled and using them to reduce your tax bills.
Tax reliefs, or tax breaks as they are sometimes called, aren’t without controversy, however. There are too many of them, say critics, and they deny the public purse much-needed funds.
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Preparing businesses for leaving the EU
As the clock continues to tick down to the 29 March 2019, when the UK is scheduled to officially leave the EU at 11pm, there is still much uncertainty around what Brexit will mean for UK business. (more…)
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March 2019 Tax Insider
Included in this article:
– HMRC error hits early-paying self-assessment taxpayers
– Minimum contributions rise to 3% for employers in April
– Making Tax Digital for VAT: one month to go
– Government launches service to prepare firms for EU exit
Fines for landlords caught out by tax probe more than double in a year
Thousands more landlords are being pursued by the taxman as part of a drive to catch out those investors underdeclaring property income, figures obtained by Telegraph Money have revealed.
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TQOTW: NEW PAYSLIP LEGISLATION
My client has asked me about the new legislation regarding payslips that comes into effect in April 2019. Can you shed some light on this?
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VQOTW: ONLINE TRADERS SELLING TO GERMANY USING AMAZON
My client is an online retailer, selling through Amazon and other online marketplaces. They have recently received correspondence from Amazon with regard to the online sales they make to customers in Germany. It appears that Amazon is insisting that my client must VAT register in Germany if they want to continue to sell to German customers via Amazon. Can you advise what has prompted this action?
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Tax Cards 2019/20
TQOTW: SELF-ASSESSMENT PENALTIES
Now that the self-assessment filing date of 31 January has passed once again, I would like to be able to understand and explain to clients the penalty regime that will apply if their returns have not been filed on time.
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Year-End Tax Guide 2018/19
February 2019 Tax Insider
Included in this months issue:
– Auto-enrolment fines rise 146%
– Dual-registration service passes 200,000 milestone
– Partners hit by avoidable ISA tax charge
– Think tank proposes tax changes to save £7bn (more…)
Changes to Probate in 2019
From April 2019, some estates in England and Wales could be required to pay almost £6,000 for a service that currently costs less than 4% of that amount.
This is because of a proposed change to the fees families must pay to administer the estate of someone who has died. (more…)
Read MoreThe Risks of a Tax Investigation
It’s a fact – humans are bad at assessing risk. We’re terrified of things that rarely happen (plane crashes, power station meltdowns) but relatively blasé about things that are statistically more likely to harm us, such as unwashed lettuce.
The likelihood of HMRC swooping to investigate your business’s tax affairs seems to be a particularly difficult risk to quantify. (more…)
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VQOTW: CHANGE IN POLICY FOR RETAINED DEPOSITS
My client and her husband run a boutique hotel in partnership. Due to the location and quirky nature of the décor, they are increasingly getting requests to host celebrations and parties in addition to overnight accommodation. As the financial outlay in preparing and staging the events can be quite considerable, the client asks for a 25% deposit up-front, which is non-refundable if the event is cancelled. Please, could you advise on the VAT treatment and time of supply implications of these deposit payments? (more…)
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TQOTW: ULTRA-LOW EMISSION VEHICLES
How do the new company car tax bands favour ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs)?
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Self Assessment returns: unbelievable excuses and dubious expenses
As the deadline approaches for submitting returns and paying tax for 2017 to 2018, HMRC reveals some of the most bizarre excuses it has received for not paying on time.
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January 2019 Tax Insider
Included in this months article:
– Businesses getting to grips with apprenticeship levy
– R&D investment grows to £23.7bn in 2016/17
– OTS calls for inheritance tax system to be digitised
– Critics urge delay in rollout of MTD
National Insurance Planning
National insurance contributions (NICs) are set aside to pay the state pension and other benefits, but due to the UK’s ageing population the National Insurance Fund is under increasing strain, with the state pension taking up more than 90% of its annual outlay in 2018.
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Outsourcing Payroll
Does it make sense for your business?
Around 1.4 million businesses in the UK employed members of staff in 2018, and all of them shared one thing in common: the legal requirement to run payroll.
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