Category: Business News

Please see below for the diary of main tax events for November/December 2023. Any questions we are here to help.

We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your businesses who are just getting going! Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

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HMRC have recently clarified their view of the tax treatment of the reimbursement of electricity costs where employees charge their electric company cars at home. HMRC now accepts that reimbursing part of a domestic energy bill, which is used to charge a company car or van, is exempt from income tax. Their previous view was that such reimbursements were taxable.

Note that the exemption will only apply provided it can be demonstrated that the electricity was used to charge the company car or van, which may be difficult to determine in practice. Employers will need to make sure that any reimbursement made towards the cost of electricity relates solely to the charging of their company car or van.

It should be remembered that where the employee uses workplace charging facilities there is no taxable benefit.

It should be noted that HMRC have still not revised their view on reclaiming VAT in respect of business miles driven by an employee who has changed their car at home. Regardless of whether the vehicle is a company car or the employee’s own, the employer cannot reclaim the VAT because the supply of electricity is made to the employee, not the employer.

We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your businesses who are just getting going! Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

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Since April 2014 members of a LLP are no longer automatically treated as self-employed for tax purposes.

A recent case before the Upper Tax Tribunal has examined the tax status of 82 members of an LLP and found that most of them should be taxed as employees not self-employed.

LLP members are treated as salaried members and taxed as employees where 3 conditions are present:-

Condition A considers the manner in which the individual is rewarded for his or her performance of services to the LLP. A Salaried Member will have a reward package that is largely that which an employee would have. This means they is being substantially remunerated through a fixed salary or a variable bonus based on their performance, rather than a share of the profits of the overall business;

Condition B is where the Member does not have a significant say in the running of the business as a whole; and

Condition C looks at the capital contribution made by the member to the LLP. The individual will be a Salaried Member if he or she has invested less than 25% of their expected income from the LLP as a capital contribution. This will need to be reviewed on an annual basis.

The management structure of many larger LLPs will trigger Condition B, as the major strategic and operating decisions are taken by an Executive Committee of members. This means that most members would be treated as employees where Conditions A and C are also present.

If you operate as an LLP, we can review the status of the various members to ensure that they are taxed correctly. Where the member is taxed as an employee, PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance Contributions should be applied and the salary would be deductible in arriving at the LLP profit.

HMRC CHALLENGES LLP SCHEME FOR PROPERTY BUSINESSES

HMRC have recently published Spotlight 63 which alerts taxpayers to a marketed tax avoidance scheme that claims to help taxpayers reduce the tax payable on their property rental profits.

The HMRC view is that the “hybrid” structure involving an LLP with individual and corporate members does not have the tax savings that the scheme promoters claim.

The scheme claims to enable buy to let landlords to transfer properties to the structure without paying capital gains tax (CGT) or stamp duty land tax (SDLT) and, once established, obtain a bigger deduction for their mortgage interest payments than they would have obtained if the property had remained in individual ownership.

It is also claimed that the “hybrid” structure saves inheritance tax when the property is passed on, which is incorrect as there is no IHT business relief for property investment businesses.

Please take care if you are tempted to use a scheme that claims to save tax; talk to us first.

We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your businesses who are just getting going! Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

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Arbitration is the process of bringing a business dispute before a neutral third party in order to resolve the situation.

Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), used in place of litigation in the hope of settling a dispute without the time and expense of going to court.

The process begins when two parties agree to settle their dispute through arbitration. The decision may also have been made for them by the addition of an arbitration clause to a contract that both parties have signed. The third party, an arbitrator, hears the evidence brought by both sides and makes a decision. Sometimes (usually) that decision is binding on the parties. It is worth noting that there is generally no appeals process, unlike in court proceedings.

There are various benefits to settling a dispute through the use of arbitration. The speed and informality of the arbitration process are major reasons why many businesses select arbitration over litigation. In many cases, arbitration can be a shorter process, and if no lawyers are needed, it can be less costly.

The two parties to the arbitration can also have control over the selection of the arbitrator. This differs to a court case where the judge and jury selection is out of the hands of the two parties. Finally, arbitration hearings are private and the results are not on public record. This can save face for both parties who may not want to publicise their dispute.

More businesses are including arbitration clauses in their agreements and contracts as a way to quickly and quietly resolve disputes. These clauses can help to protect businesses from expensive court cases while still giving customers and third parties an avenue to resolve disputes.

We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your businesses who are just getting going! Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

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The table below sets out the HMRC advisory fuel rates from 1 September 2023. These are the suggested reimbursement rates for employees’ private mileage using their company car.

Where the employer does not pay for any fuel for the company car these are the amounts that can be reimbursed in respect of business journeys without the amount being taxable on the employee.

Where there has been a change the previous rate is shown in brackets.

You can also continue to use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.

Note that for hybrid cars you must use the petrol or diesel rate. For fully electric vehicles the rate is 10p (9p) per mile.

Do you own a company car? We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your business. Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our fantastic team at A&C Chartered Accountants are here to help.

Please find below the main tax events for September/October 2023. As always, if you need further guidance, do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your businesses who are just getting going! Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our fantastic team at A&C Chartered Accountants are here to help.

Draft legislation released for consultation on 18 July indicates that business and individual taxpayers will be required to provide more information to HMRC in the next few years.

It is proposed that from 2025/26, employers will be required to provide more detailed information on employee hours worked via real time information (RTI) PAYE reporting. The information to be reported will be set out in separate regulations.

From 2025/26 shareholders in owner-managed businesses will also be required to provide additional information via their self- assessment tax returns. These shareholders will be required to disclose the amount of dividends received from their own companies separately from other dividend income, as well as the percentage shareholding that they hold in their own companies.

Self-employed individuals will be required to provide information on the start and end dates of their businesses via their self-assessment returns.

We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your businesses who are just getting going! Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our fantastic team at A&C Chartered Accountants are here to help.