June’s Tax Tips and News from Bristol Business Network Members Knipe Whiting Heath

Welcome…
To June’s Tax Tips & News, the Knipe Whiting Heath and Associates 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 all our clients don’t pay a penny more in tax than is necessary.

A change in the way loans are treated for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes could increase the taxable value of your estate on death, and the amount of IHT payable. This change will affect IHT calculated on deaths occurring after the Finance Act 2013 is passed, (expected mid-July 2013) but applies to loans which are already in place.

At present any debts owed by the estate are deducted from the net estate after reliefs, such as business property relief (BPR), have been given. Broadly BPR provides 100% or 50% relief from IHT on the value of your business assets and unquoted shares. After the Finance Act 2013 is passed, the value of a loan must be deducted from the asset it was used to acquire. Read More

Employers were told that they had to use real time information (RTI) to report PAYE deductions from the first pay day on or after 6 April 2013. But what if there has been no pay day since 6 April, because no one has been paid? In that case RTIdoes apply from 6 April 2013 onwards. You need to make an RTI report for every tax month, unless your PAYE scheme has been registered as an annual scheme. Annual PAYE schemes can make just one RTI report for the month in which the salary is paid.

If you are within RTI you can’t use the link on the HMRC website to report that no PAYE is due. You have to submit an employer payment summary (EPS) after the end of the tax month (5th) and before the payment date of the 19th.
Read More

Incorrect NI numbers

The Taxman is also causing RTI pains for employers and employees by issuing incorrect data.

When you submit an FPS or NI number verification request (NVR), the Taxman should reply with any missing or corrected NI numbers. However, in some cases the NI numbers the Taxman has returned to employers have no suffix letter (A, B, C or D).

The Taxman says you should use the NI number he has sent to you in your payroll software, but to leave the last digit blank by typing a space using the space bar. This may not be a workable solution, because most payroll software will reject any NI number with less than nine characters. We’re hoping for an HMRC update on this issue!Read More

The tax treatment of businesses which involve the letting of property is not consistent across all taxes and tax reliefs. It’s not logical, but just because the letting business qualifies for one tax relief it will not necessarily qualify for an apparently similar tax relief.

For example if you have a property letting enterprise which you wish to transfer into a company in return for shares in the company, a capital gain will arise in your hands when you transfer the properties to the company. This gain can be rolled into the value of shares of the company if the property enterprise is deemed to be a ‘business’. This relief is known as incorporation relief, but it will only apply if the business owner is more than just a passive property investor. The courts have decided that the business must have some substance in terms of turnover, be conducted on sound business principles with a view to a profit, and be activity pursued with reasonable continuity. Read More

More questions and answers

Q. I have decided to become VAT registered. Can I claim the VAT back on the van I bought two years ago, which I still use for my business? Answer

Q. Is it true that my company can purchase a top-end touring bike plus safety gear, for me to use without any restrictions? Answer

Q. I am a self-employed personal trainer. I pay rent to various local gyms where I train my clients, supply my own uniform and make my own appointments. I have to look the part to get work, so I take body-building supplements. Can I claim the cost of those supplements as a business expense? Answer

Knipe Whiting Heath & Associates Limited Accountants are based in Herefordshire, offering local business owners and individuals a wide range of services.

If you are not already a client and are interested in becoming one, we would love to come to meet with you to discuss how we can help and provide you with a competitive quote for our services.

All new client consultations are provided free of charge and without obligation.
All clients are entitled to fixed fees, work delivered on time and unlimited phone support. Visit our websitehttp://www.knipewhitingheath.com for more information.

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Here is some useful information from one of our clients…..

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