At first sight, company car drivers whose private fuel costs are met by their employers may seem to be onto a good thing, but there is a nasty tax hit… Enter, the Car Fuel Benefit charge. Let’s say the following circumstances apply: the list price…
Category: Income Tax
Time is running out for tax planning 2019-20
A reminder that in just a few months the present tax year closes, 5 April 2020. After this date, a whole raft of 2019-20 tax planning options for individuals will cease to be available. These cover a multitude of opportunities to reduce your liability…
Income Tax – regional differences
You will pay Scottish Income Tax if you live in Scotland, Income Tax if you live in England or Northern Ireland and the Welsh Income Tax if you live in Wales. At present, the only regional variations under the control of the Scottish or…
Expenses you can set-off against rental income
The expenses you claim against your property income will need to follow the usual HMRC ruling that the costs must be incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of renting out the property. An example set out on the Gov.uk website illustrates the point:…
Can't pay your tax?
A reminder that HMRC may consider extended options for settling your outstanding tax bill. The key is to contact HMRC, explain why you can’t pay on time, and discuss how you can settle any outstanding liabilities. If you can’t pay before the deadline, call…
What can you give away before the end of the tax year?
You can give away £3,000 worth of gifts each tax year (6 April to 5 April) without them being added to the value of your estate. This is known as your ‘annual exemption’. You can carry any unused annual exemption forward to the next year…
What are your tax planning options for 2018-19?
Options for adopting 99% of tax planning opportunities for 2018-19 ends on 5 April 2019, just a couple of months away. This applies equally to individuals and all businesses with an accounting year end close to, but prior to 5 April 2019. More importantly,…
The top rate of Income Tax is 45%?
Named the additional rate, the highest rate of Income Tax is 45%, and some might say 45% is high enough. However, if the rate of tax is measured as the relationship between income and tax plus tax related penalties paid, there are times when…
Tax payment time again
As all our self-assessment readers will be aware, 31 January is the date by which any arrears of tax for 2017-18 need to be settled, together with a payment on account for 2018-19, if one is due. Those who have completed their tax returns…
Are you eligible to claim the Marriage Allowance
Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,190 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner – if they earn more than you. This reduces their tax by up to £238 in the tax year. To benefit from this arrangement, you (as the…