​Now that the 31 January deadline is over, its only a few weeks until the end of the tax year so now's the time to start planning.

Take a look at the helpful check list below to see what you could do for you and for your business:


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• Review your pension contributions with your financial advisor, if you’re a higher rate tax payer consider further gift aid payments
• Top up those ISAs to the statutory limit with spare funds
• Consider if Marriage Allowance could be helpful – it could save upto £220 in tax https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/how-it-works
• If you are likely to earn more than £50,000 for the first time this tax year, familiarise yourself with the Higher Income Child Benefit Charge rules https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge/overview
• For company owners, consider the timing of dividend payments to stay within tax bands – remember midnight to 5th April 2017 counts as income for 2016/17
• Consider purchasing plant and equipment for your business to reduce tax liabilities
• Get ready for RTI payroll year end and determine if you need to issue any P11Ds - penalties are unlikely to be waived for late submissions!

As always with the Year End, with Tax, or with any other matter that you think may involve your business, please feel free to get in contact with me via the website.

If you'd like to hear more about the Tax Year End or maybe see the highlights, why not watch my short video below?

​Inheritance Tax (IHT) is a tax on the estate of someone who’s died – the rate can be as high as 40%.  We each have a ‘nil rate band’ of £325,000.  Married couples and civil partners are allowed to pass their estate to their spouse tax-free when they die and IHT is payable.

Spouses can also pass on their unused tax-free allowance to their surviving spouse. This combined allowance means that when she dies, her estate will only incur Inheritance Tax if it’s worth more than £650,000 (£325,000 + £325,000).

From 6 April 2017, everyone has an additional £100,000 (rising to £175,000 by 2020-21) tax-free allowance to use against the value of their home. Also known as the residence nil rate band.

Broadly speaking, you can only get this additional allowance if they leave your home to your children or grandchildren.  This allowance can also transfer to the surviving spouse if it isn’t used up already.

This means by 2020-21, a married couple could leave a combined estate of up to £1 million without incurring IHT.
The small print is far more complex than this article suggests and more detail can be found on THIS LINK

With new year’s resolutions not that far behind us, it might be well worth reviewing your will to ensure it can take advantage of this new relief.

As always, for help and advice with your business, tax matters or any other questions, please feel free to make contact with me and see what I can do for you.

​The flat rate was introduced to simplify accounting for smaller businesses – you simply pay a relevant proportion of your gross takings to HMRC each quarter and this varies by industry category.  The highest rate is currently 14.5%. 

As reported late last year, life is about to become a whole lot more complicated for businesses that supply largely services of labour where goods (and we are still awaiting the precise definition) comprise:

• less than 2% of their VAT inclusive turnover in a prescribed accounting period
• greater than 2% of their VAT inclusive turnover but less than £1000 per annum if the prescribed accounting period is one year (if it is not one year, the figure is the relevant proportion of £1000)

 
So for example as a management consultant you invoice £100,000 per annum plus VAT of £20,000.  The flat rate currently applies is 14% so you pay 14% of £120,000 to HMRC i.e. £16,800.  You retain £3,200.
From 1 April 2017, if you do not meet the ‘goods’ test you would pay £19,800 retaining only £200 – 16.5% is a lot less kind than it first appears.

We do know that goods cannot comprise capital items, food and drink and motoring expenses.

There is of course the option to revert to normal standard accounting from 1 April 2017 but that does add complication to the preparation of VAT returns.

For help or advice concerning VAT and your business or any other accountancy questions you may have, why not contact me via the website?
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Why not watch my short video below covering the flat rate of VAT?