HMRC now has landlords in their sights

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Residential property lettingsHMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) has announced some new initiatives over the course of the last month and one of these is The Let Property campaign which is a campaign designed to recover undeclared tax from those receiving income from residential property lets. The idea is to encourage those landlords with under-declared income or gains (potentially including income tax, Capital Gains Tax and VAT) to contact them in order to make a full disclosure. By doing so they may well avoid the higher penalties which may be applied to them should HMRC discover the undeclared income/gains via other means. Don’t forget that they now have access to information shared across systems, including in relation to properties both at home and abroad, as well as being gained through their digital intelligence system ‘Connect’ which identifies links between individuals, entities and properties. So the message to landlords is loud and clear!

The campaign applies to landlords whether they have just a single property or a large portfolio of properties and encompasses lets to students, business workforces and the holiday market. Read more

HMRC now see payments you receive via credit card!

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On September 1st 2013 new legislation kicked in which allows HMRC automatic access to data showing payments made to businesses via credit card, going back as long as 4 years. HMRC will receive this information direct from the companies who process credit card payments on behalf of businesses (‘merchant acquirers’).

No personal data identifying the card owners, nor the credit card numbers, will be supplied as part of the data — it will primarily show the quantity of transactions and values credited to any particular business via credit card. On its own this may reap £50 million per annum in otherwise ‘lost’ tax revenue and the exercise will be helped by HMRC’s ‘Connect’ system which compares data coming in from various sources and cross-refers for consistency. The scheme’s implementation has been aided by a £1 billion budget given to HMRC aimed at tackling tax evasion and fraud.

The new legislation is part of the Finance Act 2013 and is part of a major crackdown on tax evasion which overall costs the taxpayer £9 billion a year Read more

New brochure available for download

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Taxfile's BrochureHave you ever wondered what other services the Taxfile group can help you with? Well, find all the answers in the new downloadable brochure, which outlines services undertaken at the various different offices in both South London and Exeter, Devon. From accountancy and bookkeeping for SMBs to simple tax returns for individuals and right through to the most complex of complicated tax issues – we’re here to help and the new brochure gives you all the contact details for each office including address, email, telephone, Skype ID, how to book appointments on-line and, finally, what discounts are available – both to new and existing customers – it’s all there … or rather I should say … it’s all here! (A4 PDF format, less than 1MB).

Interest in Land and Property

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As a landlord or a property investor, you are able to claim interest relief by offsetting it against your lettings income. So even if you have an interest-only mortgage or a repayment one you can still claim the interest.Also if you take a personal loan and you use it entirely for the purpose of your rental business, you can claim the interest on the loan as an expense.

Very important to remember is that you can only claim interest against a loan up to the value of the rented property when first let. The capital account cannot be overdrawn.

There is a possibility to re-mortgage for a greater amount and claim this when the additional amount is used for the purpose of an investment property or wholly and exclusively for the business property.

You can claim interest on your mortgage even when your property is empty.You do not have to split the interest on the mortgage if you are genuinely trying to let the property but it is empty because it has not been able to find a tenant. In this case the interest will meet the ‘wholly and exclusively’ test. It will not meet this test if you have not been trying to let the property or you have been using it for private or non-business purposes .

We at Taxfile hope to have captured your interest in landlord tax and if you need to know more about it, feel free to pop in at our Tulse Hill office and speak to one of our tax agents.

Taxfile: Barristers and Tax

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As a barrister you are treated as self employed by HM Revenue and Customs.

Historically barristers computed their professional profits for tax purposes on a “cash basis.”

Fees were brought into account only when received, and expenses only when paid.

From fiscal year 1999/00, it is required that all professionals including most barristers to compute their profits on a “true and fair view.”

Barristers in their first seven years of practice are still allowed to use the cash basis.

In computing their profits for tax purposes, barristers can deduct certain expenses like:

• Travelling costs from Chambers to court;

• Off street parking;

• Library and periodical subscriptions;

• Postage, printing, photocopying and stationary;

• Professional and accountancy fees;

• Devilling fees

• Chambers’ rent;

• Legal literature;

• Professional Indemnity Insurance premiums;

• Subscriptions (Circuit, Bar Council, Bar Associations)

• Bank charges;

• Use of home as an office;

• Robing room fees;

• Law report subscriptions;

• Staff costs;

• Silk application fees;

• Clothing and cleaning.

According to HMRC, “You should allow a deduction in computing profits for the cost of replacing gowns and wigs and frock coats worn by Queen’s Counsel. You should not, however, allow a deduction for expenditure on `normal clothes’, for example, black coats and pin- stripe trousers worn by male barristers or black dresses and suits worn by female barristers (this follows the decision in Mallalieu v Drummond”

Taxfile‘s tax agents will ensure you keep the necessary records of your income and expenditure and you make the right adjustments with regards the to private use of your expenditure.

Also, our tax accountants in South London and Exeter will make sure you obtain the maximum available tax deduction when calculating your taxable profits.

Business Payment Support Service

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Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) was launched on 24 November 2008. This service is designed to support businesses having trouble payment their tax bills in the current economic crisis.
Very important to realise is that this service does not deal with anyone that has already made a payment arrangement with HMRC .
Also, the BPSS does not deal with you if HMRC has already got in touch with you regarding an overdue payment.
In order for the BPSS to be able to help your business, you need to contact them before the tax, VAT, Corporation Tax, Pay As You Earn or National Insurance contributions liabilities are due.
You can contact them seven days a week on 0845 302 1435.
According to HMRC, this service “designed to assist all businesses (large and small) that will be unable to pay their tax. The service is primarily available to self-employed people and companies but can be used by any of your clients who are having difficulty in meeting their tax liabilities. It covers most taxes and duties including Income Tax, Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE and National Insurance.”
The Payment Support service only applies to businesses that cannot genuinely meet their tax payments on time and they are likely to pay their tax over a longer period of time.
Also according to HMRC, “ surcharge(s) can be avoided on late payment of income tax where a Time to Pay agreement is entered into before the relevant surcharge date AND the terms of the agreement are adhered to.”
Although surcharges can be avoided, interest on late payment will be charged in the normal way.
If you would like to know more about this service , you can follow this link.
Taxfile‘s tax agents in South London and Exeter can discuss your business position with HMRC on your behalf and arrange a Time to Pay agreement.

Arising and Remittance basis of taxation

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As resident in the UK you are being taxed on an Arising basis.

Arising Basis of Taxation means you will pay UK tax on all of your income as it arises and on your gains as they accrue, wherever that income and those gains are in the world.

The Remittance Basis of Taxation is an alternative tax treatment available to some people who are resident in the UK and who are either non domiciled in the UK (you are normally considered to be domiciled in the country where you have your permanent home) or/and non ordinary resident in the UK (your residence in the UK is typical for you and not casual and your presence here has a settled purpose ; it is part of a regular and habitual mode of your life for the time being).

This treatment of tax is only relevant if you have foreign income or/and gains. If you are eligible and choose to use the remittance basis, you will be liable to UK tax on all of your UK income and gains on an arising basis but you will only be liable to UK tax on your foreign income and/or gains if and when you remit them to the UK that means when you bring them directly or indirectly to the UK.

What is important when opting to have your foreign income taxed on a remittance basis is the amount of unremitted foreign income and/or gains you actually have during the tax year.

If your unremitted foreign income (and/or gains) arising or accruing in the tax year is less than £2,000 you can use the remittance basis without having to make a claim.

If your unremitted foreign income (and/or gains) arising or accruing in a tax year is more than £2,000, you will have to make a claim if you want the remittance basis to apply to you otherwise you will be liable to UK tax on the arising basis.

If you decide to claim the remittance basis and have been a ‘long term’ resident in the UK (resident in the UK for at least seven out of the last nine tax years immediately preceding the relevant tax year) you may have to pay the The Remittance Basis Charge (RBC).

The RBC is an annual tax charge of £30,000. It is tax on a part of the foreign income and gains which you leave outside the UK (unremitted) and is payable in addition to any UK tax that you have to pay on either UK income (and/or gains) or foreign income and gains remitted to the UK.

We here at Taxfile hope you found this useful . As this is a complicated area of expertise you should always seek professional advice before taking any decisions related to residence, domicile and the remittance basis.

Click here to contact us for help with tax and accountancy, or call 0208 761 8000.

Commercial letting of furnished holiday accommodation and tax

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Commercial letting is defined as ‘let on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profits’.
Accommodation is furnished if the tenant is entitled to use of sufficient furniture.

It will generally be necessary to calculate the furnished holiday lettings profit or loss separately from the rest of the rental business.

If a letting is to qualify as furnished holiday letting(FHL)a few conditions should be met:
• the property to be in the UK ;
• property has to be furnished;
• property should be available for holiday letting to the public for at least 140 days a year;
• it should be let commercially for 70 days or more, and
• cannot not be occupied for more than 31 days by the same person in any period of 7 months.
The difference between residential lets and holiday lets is that with residential ones you can claim a certain relief called wear and tear as compared to the holiday ones where you can claim capital allowances.

Capital allowances can include the cost of furnishings and furniture, and equipment such as refrigerators and washing machines.

Another important difference between residential and holiday lettings is that with holiday ones you can offset any loss you make in the year against other type of income.
You may also be able to take advantage of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reliefs, such as ‘business asset roll-over relief’.
For example, if you reinvest within three years in another UK holiday letting property or certain other assets costing the same as or more than you got for the property you have sold, you may be able to defer payment of CGT until you dispose of those new assets.
To work out your taxable profit you deduct your allowable expenses from your gross rental income. These include:
•Letting agent fees (where applicable)
•Legal and accountant fees
•Buildings and contents insurance
•Interest on mortgage payments
•Maintenance and repair costs (but not improvements)
•Utility bills
•Council Tax
•Cleaning or gardening
•Other costs related to letting the property, such as phone calls, advertising and stationery.
Landlords with income from furnished holiday accommodation in the UK are
currently treated as if they are trading for certain tax purposes, as long as they
satisfy the above criteria.
Landlords with income from furnished holiday accommodation elsewhere in the
European Economic Area (EEA) cannot currently qualify for this treatment. They
were treated instead in the same way as landlords of other types of overseas
property, under the property income rules.
The Government has decided it should repeal the Furnished Holiday Lettings rules from 2010-11.

Next week we are going to talk about these changes in more detail.

If you are still confused about lettings in relation to tax, Taxfile‘s tax agents in South London and accountants in Exeter are here to assist you.

Deferred tax scheme for loss-making companies

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One of the better tax-related things to come out of the Chancellor’s recent budget is the potential help some struggling companies may receive from HMRC. Companies who anticipate making a trading loss in the current tax year may be allowed to take the anticipated loss into account earlier than previously possible, when scheduling payments of Corporation Tax or Income Tax. Such businesses will no longer need to wait until the end of their complete accounting period (which is often some considerable time ahead) before they can take probable losses into account for payment of tax. Qualifying businesses may be able to agree extensions to the time in which they can pay with a couple of provisos: firstly that they really are likely to make a trading loss in the current year and secondly that they are genuinely unable to pay straight away or enter into a reasonable instalment agreement with HMRC.

Since launch, more than 110,000 businesses have already agreed deferred tax payment arrangements, equating to around £2 billion. Typically, repayments are scheduled over 3 to 6 months. The scheme is administered by the BPSS (Business Payment Support Service).

For further information and help with any of your tax affairs, contact Taxfile, accountants based in Tulse Hill, South London (tel: 020 8761 8000) or go to the relevant HMRC web page.

London Employers – beat the 19 May deadline!

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Employer annual returns filing deadlineIf you are one of London’s 165,000 employers, you only have a matter of days to meet the deadline for filing your Employer Annual Returns — the deadline is 19 May! Miss it and you could end up with a costly penalty for filing late.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) also requires large employers (that’s those employing 50 or more people) to file their 2008/2009 Employer Annual Return online. Again, if they don’t, they may well end up having to pay an additional penalty.

If you have less than 50 employees you do not have to use the system but there is a good incentive to do so anyway, in the shape of a £75 payment – tax-free!

Further information from HMRC is available although if you would prefer to have some personal help from South London-based accountants Taxfile, then they know the system extremely well and can make sure everthing is done correctly for you, and on time. Be quick though …. the 19 May deadline is ony a few days away at time of writing.

Taxfile can be contacted on 020 8761 8000 and it may help to know that many different languages are spoken.