Tax

Our latest ‘Tax Tips’ newsletter including Furlough/SEISS extensions.

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We have just issued our latest ‘Tax Tips and News’ which includes:

• CJRS (Furlough Scheme) extended and made flexible
• Self Employed Scheme (SEISS) extended.
• Bounce back loans – a hit!
• VAT: Deferral of payments
• eCommerce businesses thriving and multiplying!
• CGT – PPR changes go ahead.
• Coronavirus and the high-income child benefit charge?
• MTD for VAT: Second phase delayed.
• Zoom video conferencing.
• What does your brand stand for?
• How purpose drives success
• Questions and Answers.

You can download a full pdf copy (and subscribe for future issues automatically) here.

Stay Safe – and call us if we can help!

Dean and Gina

Q & A – Company loans to directors and relatives.

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Q. I borrowed some money from my company to lend to my brother. He is paying it back in monthly instalments over three years. I am the sole director and shareholder of the company and I am not charging my brother interest on the loan. Are there any tax implications I need to consider?

A. The tax implications for the company are that the loan is deemed to have been made to an associate of a participator in the company, and as such, it will be caught by what are commonly referred to as the ‘section 455 rules’. Broadly, these rules mean that the company will have to pay tax at 32.5% on the amount of the loan outstanding nine months after the accounting year end of the company. When the loan has subsequently been repaid to the company, HMRC will refund the tax paid.

There is an exception to this, namely where a loan does not exceed £15,000, but only when the shareholder does not own more than 5% of the shares.

If an employee of a relative of an employee receives an interest-free loan from an employer, this will be a benefit-in-kind for the employee. Interest at the ‘official rate’ (currently 2.5%) is calculated, and this deemed interest is subject to tax. However, there are exceptions to this tax charge where:

– the loan is a ‘qualifying loan’;
– a qualifying or non-qualifying loan is less than £10,000; and
– the employee can show that they received no benefit from the loan to the relative.

Tax efficient remuneration through pension contributions.

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Tax relief is generally available on pension contributions at the taxpayer’s highest rate of income tax paid, meaning that basic rate taxpayers get relief on contributions at 20%, higher rate taxpayers at 40%, and additional rate taxpayers at 45%. In Scotland, income tax is banded differently, and pension tax relief is applied in a slightly different way.

Pensions are a particularly tax-efficient form of savings since nearly everyone is entitled to receive relief on contributions up to an annual maximum regardless of whether they pay tax or not. The maximum amount on which a non-taxpayer can currently receive basic rate tax relief is £3,600. So, an individual can pay in £2,880 a year, but £3,600 will be the amount actually invested by the pension provider.

The total amount of tax relief available on pension contributions is calculated with reference to ‘relevant UK earnings’. Unfortunately, dividends do not count towards ‘relevant UK earnings’ for pension contributions purposes. This means that where a director takes remuneration by way of a small salary and a large dividend, the dividend will not count and the individual’s pension tax relief limit may be restricted. Moreover, tax charges will apply if the limit is exceeded.

A director looking to increase their tax-free contributions limit could consider either increasing the amount of salary taken from the company (to increase ‘relevant UK earnings’), or (more likely) by making the pension contribution directly from the company as an employer contribution. Making an employer contribution has additional advantages.

Qualifying employer contributions count as allowable business expenses, so the company could currently save up to 19% in corporation tax. In order to qualify for a deduction, the pension contributions should be ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purposes of business. HMRC will check for evidence that this is the case, for example whether other employees are receiving comparable remuneration packages.

Another advantage of making a company contribution is that employer National Insurance Contributions will not be payable, saving the company up to 13.8% on the contribution amount.

This means that the company can potentially save up to 32.8% by paying money directly into the directors pension rather than paying money in the form of a salary. Depending on circumstances, this may or may not be more beneficial than paying personal pension contributions.

Q & A. Tax back following Gift Aid donation.

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Q. My child’s school is asking parents to make a one-off donation to help with much-needed school funds. If I complete a gift aid form for my donation, will I be able to can claim tax back on the payment?

A. If the school is a registered charity, either registered with the Charity Commission or with HMRC, you can make gift aid payments to them – both regular and one-off payments.

Under gift aid your donation is treated as being made net of basic rate tax (at 20%) tax and the charity claims the tax back from the government. So, if you make a donation of £100 under the Gift Aid scheme and you’re a basic rate taxpayer, the charity is able to claim back tax of £25 from the government, which means the charity receives £125, but it costs you only £100.

However, a higher rate taxpayer can claim 20% (the difference between the higher rate of tax at 40% cent and the basic rate of tax at 20%) as a tax deduction on the total value to the charity of the donation. So, on a gift of £100, a higher rate taxpayer can reclaim £25 (20% of the gross donation of £125). The claim is usually made via the individual’s self-assessment tax return.

Specialist Accountants for Ecommerce Businesses

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Over recent years the number of ‘online traders’ or ‘Ecommerce’ businesses has grown considerably and in the next ten years we believe the market will at least double!

Hanley & Co began advised several substantial eBay traders over ten years ago and due to the significant growth of Amazon FBA (and many other markets) we have been very fortunate to have attracted a significant number of these businesses as clients from across the UK (and overseas).

We consider ourselves to be ‘the specialists’ in this area. We are regularly contacted by businesses whose accountants just don’t handle (or understand) this sector. 

Most of these businesses need (and expect) an online bookkeeping system that caters for the complex reports flowing from Amazon, PayPal, Stripe etc.  They also need confidence that their VAT and taxes are being properly handled.

If you know of an Ecommerce business proprietor that is struggling for advice from their advisors and accountants or need certainty about their bookkeeping, VAT registration requirements (including EU / international), VAT calculations and schemes (and of course MTD) please ask them to contact us for a chat!

New VAT rules for the Construction Sector

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Under new rules due to come in on 1 October 2019 builders, sub-contractors and other trades associated with the construction industry will have start using a new method of accounting for VAT.

Under the new rules, supplies of standard or reduced-rated building services between VAT-registered businesses in the supply chain will not be invoiced in the normal way. Under the reverse charge, a main contractor would account for the VAT on the services of any sub-contractor and the supplier does not invoice for VAT. The customer (main contractor) would then account for VAT on the net value of the supplier’s invoice and at the same time deduct that VAT from the payment to the sub-contractor.

This is intended to ensure that VAT is correctly accounted for on supplies by sub-contractors.

The new reverse charge will apply to a wide range of services in the building trade, primarily those activities covered by the construction industry (CIS) payment rules. Note that normal VAT invoices will continue to be issued to domestic customers.

Please contact us if you are likely to be affected by these changes and we can work with you to ensure you are ready for the new system.

Hanley & Co selected to join ‘Handpicked Accountants’

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Hanley & Co Selected As One Of The UK’s Top Accountants

We are delighted to announce that Hanley & Co have been selected to join Handpicked Accountants.

Recently launched by the renowned Begbies Traynor Group, Handpicked Accountants is an online searchable database that aims to connect company directors and small business owners with accountancy firms that they know they can trust. Rather than having to take ‘pot-luck’ with one of the approximately 320,000 accountants in the UK, Handpicked Accountants features only firms which have been thoroughly vetted, often through years of working with the Begbies Traynor Group themselves.

David Tattersall, Head of Client Relations at Handpicked Accountants, said, “Hanley & Co deserves their place in our select list of only about 1,000 Handpicked Accountants, as a result of their dedication to their clients and their emphasis on providing an exceptional level of service at an up-front price. Too many business owners come to us looking for a new accountant after having been surprised by extra charges and unexpected bills. However we can guarantee that this will never happen with Hanley & Co and so we are delighted to be able to welcome them to the Handpicked Accountants family.”

Dean Logan, Partner at Hanley & Co, replied, “Being included in the Handpicked Accountants list is a real honour for us. We have always strived to provide our clients with fair, open and honest advice that they can trust, and our client testimonials show how many happy clients that we have. Whether it is providing accountancy, auditing, bookkeeping, tax advice, support for business start-ups, VAT, payroll and CIS or company formations and services, we ensure that we provide the best possible service for our clients all for a fair and upfront price. Hopefully via our inclusion on the Handpicked Accountants website we will be able to offer this to many new clients too.”

You can view our Manchester listing here and our Blackpool listing here