Category: Tax Advice

One of the main themes of the Chancellor’s March 2016 Budget was to ensure that the next generation inherits a strong economy, is better educated, and  grow up fit and healthy. His proposed “sugar tax” on the soft drinks industry will be used to fund longer school days for those that want to offer their pupils a wider range of activities, including extra sport.

He again stressed his prudence in concentrating on debt repayment and the importance of “mending the roof while the sun shines”, although he acknowledged that there were numerous factors that could impact on his “bullish” growth forecasts and promises of future budget surpluses.

There will be further changes affecting savers and he hinted that there could be yet further changes to pensions, but not for the time being.

PERSONAL ALLOWANCES

As already announced, the basic personal allowance for 2016/17 will be £11,000.  The March Budget announced that this will increase to £11,500 for 2017/18. Remember that if your adjusted net income exceeds £100,000 the personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 over £100,000 giving an effective rate of 60% on income between £100,000 and £122,000 for 2016/17.  Contact us for advice on planning to avoid this 60% rate.

If they are a higher rate taxpayer and earn between £43,000 and £150,000, they will be eligible for a £500 tax-free savings allowance, but those with income in excess of £150,000 a year will be taxed in full on their interest income.

As a result of these changes banks and building societies will pay interest gross from 6 April 2016.

NEW DIVIDEND RULES START 6 APRIL 2016

It was announced in the Summer 2015 Budget that there would be a £5,000 tax free dividend allowance from 6 April 2016 and that once used the rate of tax on dividend income would increase by 7.5%. This means that basic rate taxpayers will pay 7.5% tax on dividend income, higher rate taxpayers 32.5% and additional rate taxpayers 38.1%.  Note that from 6 April 2016 dividends will no longer carry with them a 10% notional credit.  This is the reason why dividends received by basic rate taxpayers were effectively tax free up to 5 April 2016.

32.5% TAX ON LOANS TO PARTICIPATORS FROM 6 APRIL 2016

Where a “close” company controlled by 5 or fewer shareholders (participators) makes a loan to one of those persons the company is required to pay tax to HM Revenue and Customs. The rate of tax increases from 25% to 32.5% from 6 April 2016 in line with the dividend rate for higher rate taxpayers. This tax is not payable if the loan is cleared within 9 months of the end of the accounting period and will continue to be repaid to the company if the loan is repaid or written off after the 9 month period.

CAPITAL TAX RATES

An unexpected announcement was a reduction in the rate of capital gain tax from 6 April 2016 down from 18% to 10% for basic rate taxpayers and 28% down to 20% for higher rate taxpayers. The 18% and 28% rates remain for disposals of residential property.

There has been no change in the inheritance tax nil rate band which remains at £325,000 until 2020 although an additional nil band will be available from 6 April 2017 where the main residence or assets of an equivalent value are left to direct descendants. This additional relief will be protected where the person downsizes to a less valuable property from 8 July 2015 onwards. Please contact us if you would like to discuss inheritance tax planning.

FURTHER CHANGES TO CGT ENTREPRENEURS’ RELIEF

Entrepreneurs’ relief (ER) will be extended to external investors in unlisted trading companies. This new investors’ relief will apply a 10% rate of CGT to gains accruing on the disposal of ordinary shares held by individuals. These shares must be subscribed for by the claimant and acquired for new consideration on or after 17 March 2016. The shares must have been held for a period of at least three years starting from 6 April 2016 and there will be a lifetime cap of £10 million.

In the 2014 Autumn Statement it was announced that it is no longer possible to claim CGT entrepreneurs’ relief against the gains arising on the sale on or after 3 December 2014 of goodwill by a sole trader or partnership to a limited company in which they have a controlling interest. That restriction was then legislated in Finance Act 2015. It has now been announced that the relief will still be available provided that the transferor does not receive more than 5% of share capital or voting rights in the acquiring company.

LOWER CORPORATION TAX RATES

A single corporation tax rate of 20% has applied  since 1 April 2015 regardless of the level of the company’s profits. In the Summer 2015 Budget it was announced that this would reduce to 19% in April 2017. The Chancellor has now announced that this will now be reduced to 17% from 1 April 2020.

£1,000 TAX FREE FOR “MICRO -ENTREPRENEURS

From April 2017, the government will introduce new allowances for the first £1,000 of trading income and the first £1,000 of property income. Those with income below this level will no longer need to declare or pay income tax on that income. Those with income above the allowance will also benefit by deducting the relevant allowance from their gross income. This appears to be aimed at people starting small businesses on E-Bay and renting on air B&B.

NEW CORPORATE TAX LOSS RULES

There will be fundamental changes to the rules for setting off corporate tax losses starting on 1 April 2017. For losses incurred on or after 1 April 2017, companies will be able to use carried forward losses against profits from other income streams or from other companies within a group. However, large companies with profits in excess of £5m will only be allowed to offset brought forward losses against 50% of the amount of profit in each future period.

INTEREST RELIEF RESTRICTED FOR MULTI- NATIONAL COMPANIES

From 1 April 2017, to restrict profit shifting by multi-nationals, the UK will be introducing a Fixed Ratio Rule limiting corporation tax deductions for net interest expense to 30% of a group’s UK earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). This is in line with the rules that exist in several other countries and will address profit-shifting through interest charges. Note that this restriction will not apply where the net UK interest expense is less than £2 million.

SDLT CHANGES

The rules for calculating the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) charged on purchases of non-residential properties and transactions involving a mixture of residential and non-residential properties changed with effect from Budget Day to bring them more into line with the mechanism for charging SDLT on residential property. On and after 17 March 2016, SDLT will be charged at each rate on the portion of the purchase price which falls within each rate band. The new rates and thresholds for freehold purchases and leases premiums are:

Note also that the additional 3% SDLT charge on additional residences commences on 1 April 2016.

TAX RELIEF ON SMALL DONATIONS TO CHARITY INCREASED TO £8,000
The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) allows charities to treat small donations such as those in collecting boxes as if Gift Aided.

With effect from 6 April 2016 the maximum annual donation amount which can be claimed through GASDS will be increased from £5,000 to £8,000 allowing charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs to claim Gift Aid style top-up payments of up to £2,000 a year.

VAT REGISTRATION LIMIT £83,000

The VAT registration limit has been increased by £1,000 to £83,000 from 1 April 2016. The de-registration limit also increased by £1,000 to £81,000.

TAX DIARY OF MAIN EVENTS

Those running a business and making up accounts to 5 April should consider buying plant and machinery to take advantage of the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) of £200,000. The AIA provides a 100% tax write off for equipment used in your business. This tax relief extends to fixtures and fittings within business premises such as electrical, water and heating systems. There is also 100% tax relief if you buy a new car that emits no more than 95g CO2 per kilometer and an increasing number of cars now fall below that limit.

Note that 5 April is not relevant if your business makes up accounts to a date other than 5 April. If your business year end is say 30 June, then you would need to acquire the equipment before that date to get the 100% tax relief.

Have you used your 2015/16 £11,100 annual exemption? Consider selling shares where the gain is less than £11,100 before 6 April 2016. Also, if you have any worthless shares, consider a negligible value claim to establish a capital loss. You may even be able to set off that capital loss against your income under certain circumstances.

Take advantage of the pension carry forward rules in order to benefit from any unused allowances from the previous three tax years. This is generally the difference between the old £50,000 annual pension allowance and your pension input that year and can be added to your relief for 2015/16. Note that the annual pension allowance is £40,000 for 2015/16 and 2016/17, although those individuals with income over £150,000 will have their annual pension allowance reduced by £1 for every £2 over £150,000.
To avoid losing pension relief brought forward from 2012/13 which lapses 5 April 2016, consider making an additional pension payment before 5 April 2016. If your pension input was £24,000 in 2012/13 then there is £26,000 unused relief available to add to your 2015/16 allowance. You would need to make gross pension contributions of at least £66,000 (£40,000 plus £26,000) to avoid losing this generous relief.

For every £2 that your adjusted net income exceeds £100,000, the £10,600 personal allowance is reduced by £1. Pension contributions and Gift Aid can help to reduce adjusted net income and save tax at an effective rate of 60%.

Prior to the introduction of RTI, employers were required to complete an end-of-year checklist and declaration on form P35 and submit to HM Revenue and Customs. Under RTI this was replaced by the final full payment RTI submission which included a similar checklist and declaration.

HM Revenue and Customs have recently announced that from 6 March 2015, the requirement for employers to complete the end-of-year checklist when making their final full payment submission under the real time information regime will be removed, for the current tax year 2014/15 and subsequent years.

In last year’s Finance Act it was announced that the VAT rules for dealing with prompt payment (or early settlement) discounts would be changing from 1 April 2015. HMRC have now issued brief 49/2014 setting out guidance for businesses affected by the change, many of whom may need to change their invoicing procedures.

From 1 April 2015, output VAT will need to be calculated on the consideration actually received from the customer instead of the current rules where VAT is calculated on the value of the supply, net of any discount for prompt payment.

Let’s assume, for example, that you supply goods to the value of £100 but allow the customer a 2.5% discount if they pay within 30 days. Under the current rules VAT is charged on the discounted price of £97.50 not £100, whether or not the customer pays within 30 days.

From 1 April 2015, suppliers issuing a VAT invoice will enter the invoice into their accounts, and record the VAT on the full price. If offering a PPD, suppliers must show the rate of the discount offered on their invoice. The supplier will not know if the discount has been taken up until they are paid in accordance with the terms of the PPD offer, or the time limit for the PPD expires. The supplier will then have two options to deal with the discount:

1. they may issue a credit note to evidence the reduction in consideration
2. alternatively, if they do not wish to issue a credit note, they will need to adjust the output tax in their VAT return and the invoice must contain the following information:
a. the terms of the PPD (in particular the time by which the discounted price must be made).
b. a statement that the customer can only recover as input tax the VAT paid to the supplier.

Please contact us if you wish to discuss the effect of these changes on your invoicing and accounting procedures.

Recent editions of this newsletter have featured the important changes to personal pensions for those over 55 that take effect from 6 April 2015.

From 6 April 2016 the new flat rate State Pension will be introduced, which is expected to be around £150 a week. A person’s actual entitlement will depend on their National Insurance contribution record.

Those who have built up an entitlement greater than the flat rate amount due to paying SERPs or other additional contributions will receive that higher amount.

Individuals will need a minimum of 10 qualifying years and the full flat rate State Pension will only be given if they have 35 qualifying years (previously 30 years).

Those aged over 55 are encouraged to contact the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to receive a projection of their expected State Pension and check their contribution record. It is possible to make good any shortfall by making voluntary Class 3 contributions (£13.90 a week). Those who are self-employed will find it cheaper to make Class 2 contributions (currently £2.75 per week).If you are an employee or director, provided your salary exceeds the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £5,772 p.a.) then although no NIC is actually due you are deemed to have contributed for that year.

£150 a week may not seem a lot to live on but note that at a 5% annuity rate you would need a fund of over £155,000 to generate such an income.

If your business bought a car costing more than £12,000 prior to April 2009, the writing down allowance has been restricted to £3,000 a year and the car was kept separate from other assets.

For accounting periods ending on or after 31 March 2014 for corporation tax and 5 April 2014 for income tax, the balance remaining for such a car transfers to the general capital allowance pool and receives the 18% writing down allowance.

For example, an Aston Martin DB9 bought for £121,000 in year ended 30 April 2008 would be written down to £100,000 at 30 April 2014. The writing down allowance for year ended 30 April 2015 would be £18,000, not £3,000.