The way in which relief for capital expenditure is given depends on the way in which the accounts are prepared. For companies, and for sole traders and partnerships not eligible to use the cash basis, accounts must be prepared using the traditional accruals basis. Under the accruals basis, a deduction is not permitted for capital…
Mileage allowance payments – what is NIC-free?
Employees frequently use their cars for work and may be paid a mileage allowance by their employer for doing so. Employers are generally familiar with the rates that can be paid tax-free; however, it is easy to assume (wrongly as it happens) that the same rules apply for National Insurance purposes. While it is true…
Relief for trading losses
In the event that a loss arises in a trade or profession, consideration should be given as how best to obtain relief for that loss. As with many things, there is no ‘one size fits all’ and the best option will depend on the trader’s particular circumstances. Option 1 – Relief against general income If…
Should an LLP partner be treated as a salaried partner?
As a general rule, the individual partners in a partnership are treated as self-employed for tax purposes. Consequently, they pay tax under the self-assessment system and pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions on their profits. However, in a limited liability partnership (LLP), some of the partners are more like employees in nature…
Gift cards and the trivial benefits exemption
The trivial benefits exemption allows employers to ignore benefits in kind that cost £50 or less for tax purposes, as long as the conditions of the exemption are met. Where the exemption applies the benefit does not need to be reported to HMRC. Staying within the scope of the exemption is perhaps easier said than…
Using your car in your property rental business
Landlords will often use their car for the purposes of their property rental business. Where they do so, they are able to claim a deduction for the costs that they incur. Using mileage rates Where a landlord uses their car for business purposes, the easiest way to work out the amount that can be deducted…
Grounds and gardens for SDLT
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on residential property also applies to land that form the garden or grounds of the property. To ensure that the right rate of SDLT is applied, it is therefore important to ascertain whether any land purchased with a property constitutes its garden or grounds. The rules here are not the…
Joint tenants v tenants in common – Does it matter?
There are two different ways of owning property jointly – as joint tenants or as tenants in common. The way in which the property is owned determines exactly who owns what and also what happens when one of the joint owners dies and how any income is taxed. Joint tenants Where two or more owners…
Employer-funded scholarships
Special tax rules apply to scholarships, which include exhibitions, bursaries or other similar education endowments. Provided certain conditions are met, there will be no tax or reporting implications where an employer funds a ‘fortuitous’ scholarship for an employee’s family member. Broadly, this means that there must be no direct connection between the employee working for…
Weighing up LLPs
A limited liability partnership (LLP) is similar to an ordinary partnership in that a number of people or limited companies join together and share the costs, risks, and responsibilities of the business. They also take a share of the profits and pay income tax and NICs on their share of the partnership profits. However, an…