September’s Tax Tips & News
Welcome to our newsletter designed to bring you tax tips and news to keep you one step ahead of the taxman.
If you need further assistance just let us know or you can send us a question for our Question and Answer Section.
We are committed to ensuring none of our clients pay a penny more in tax than is necessary and they receive useful tax and business advice and support throughout the year.
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Late Filing Penalties
From 6 October 2014 the HMRC computer will automatically issue you with a penalty if you submit your full payment submission (FPS) under RTI “late”, or don’t submit it at all for a month in which you paid your employees. – click here to read more >>
Redress Payments
Was your business mis-sold an interest rate hedging product (IRHP) by its bank? The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has required the banks concerned to make redress payments to the wronged businesses, and some of those payments are coming through now. – click here to read more >>
VAT On Multi-products
Most products and services are subject to standard rate VAT at 20%, but some products are zero-rated (VAT applied at 0%), while others, e.g. rent for certain buildings, are exempt from VAT. There is a limited range of products and services that attract 5% VAT. – click here to read more >>
Travel Question
If you contract through your own personal service company (PSC), you will be an employee of that company and you have to obey the strict tax rules that apply to employees’ travel deductions when claiming expenses from your PSC. – click here to read more >>
HMRC to force letting agents to reveal landlord details
HMRC has stepped up its campaign against tax avoidance, with the latest target being private landlords. Why target private landlords you might wonder? Well, HMRC’s figures would suggest that of the 1.4 million estimated landlords operating in the UK currently, only roughly 500,000 are said to have registered and declared their rental income with HMRC. HMRC is therefore targeting the remaining 900,000 landlords. – click here to read more >>
September Questions and Answers
Q. Private school fees are so expensive, can I get my company to pay the fees directly and save myself a bit of tax?
A. If the company pays a bill, such as the school fees, which you are personally liable to pay, the payment is treated for national insurance (NI) purposes, as if the company had paid it to you so the company must pay employers NI on top of the amount of the fee. However, it is a benefit in kind so it must be reported on the form P11D and the income tax you are due to pay will be included in your PAYE code for the next year. In the long run you don’t save any tax or NI. If your company contracts directly with the school to be the person responsible for paying the school fees, the tax position is slightly different. The payment must be treated as a benefit in kind and reported on your form P11D, and the company must pay class 1A NICs on the amount paid. You pay tax on the payment to the school, but not NICs.
Q. I was travelling abroad on business last month when I got terrible tooth ache. I sought emergency treatment at a local dentist and paid the bill using my company’s debit card. Will I be taxed on the dentist’s fee as a benefit in kind?
A. If the dental cost had been incurred while you were in the UK, it would have been a taxable benefit for you. But as you were working outside the UK at the time, your company can pick up the bill with no tax cost to you. The dental bill is also a valid deduction for the company as it forms part of the cost of sending you to work abroad for a short period.
Q. I own several properties which I let out unfurnished, but they do contain carpets, curtains and white goods. I’ve been told I can no longer claim the cost of replacing those items against my rental income. Is that true?
A. For periods before 6 April 2013 HMRC permitted a deduction for the cost of renewing carpets, curtains and white goods in all let residential properties on a concessionary basis. That concession was withdrawn with effect from 6 April 2013. The new rules now state that a wear and tear allowance (10% of the net rents) that covers furnishings and similar items, can only be claimed for fully furnished properties.
Your properties don’t count as fully furnished, even though they contain some white goods and carpets. HMRC will not accept claims for the cost of free-standing white goods in unfurnished residential properties. It will allow a deduction for the cost of replacing fixtures such as baths, toilets, integrated fitted ovens and hobs, as those costs can be classified as repairs. If you replace part of the fitted carpet you could claim that as a repair, but not the cost of putting new carpet down in the entire property.
September Key Tax Dates
19/22 – PAYE/NIC and CIS deductions due for month to 5/09/2014
30 – Closing date to claim Small Business Rate Relief for 2013/14 in England