Using 'Trading Income Allowance' to save tax

Making the Most of your Tax Allowances for Small Trading?

Using 'Trading Income Allowance' to save tax

Are you making the most of your tax allowances for small trading? If you have small earnings from self employment, then it may be advantageous to make a claim for Trading Income Allowance i.e. to claim a flat rate deduction of £1,000 for expenses instead of claiming the actual expenses incurred.

Example:

Christina has income of £2,360 and expenses for web hosting of £204, software of £103 and publishing costs of £430
(total expenses £737).

As her expenses are less than £1,000 she can claim £1,000 Trading Income Allowance in preference to claiming the actual expenses.

Her taxable profit therefore becomes £1,360 instead of £1,623. So, she pays less tax!

This is just one simple way in which Taxfile’s knowledge of the tax system can help its customers pay less tax in a totally acceptable way from HMRC’s perspective.

Contact your nearest Taxfile branch

Please do contact us for any accountancy work that you or your business(es) require. We’re tax experts and are also very well trusted by HMRC because we deal with them on a daily basis on behalf hundreds of clients. We have several UK branches including in Tulse Hill, Dulwich and Battersea in London, Exeter and Plymouth in the South West along with our tax specialists in Poole (Dorset), Carlisle in the North of England and Yorkshire in the North East. Call 0208 761 8000 or contact us here for more information — we’ll be happy to help you to get your tax affairs in order in the most tax-efficient way.

George Osborne

Highlights from the Chancellor’s Budget, 18 March 2015

Along with some encouraging news about the UK economy, some interesting new measures were announced in the Chancellor’s Budget yesterday and below we highlight those which we feel will directly impact the majority of UK taxpayers:

  • As widely forecast, the tax-free allowance will increase. The amount people can earn before paying tax will rise to £10,800 from 2016-17 and then to £11,000 from 2017-18. At the same points in time, higher earners will also receive a two stage increase to the threshold at which they start to pay a 40% rate of tax, with the threshold increasing to £43,300 by 2017-18.
  • The Chancellor also announced a brand new Personal Savings Allowance whereby the first £1,000 of interest (£500 for higher rate taxpayers) will be tax tree. This new allowance will kick in from April 2016 and will take 95% of taxpayers out of savings tax completely. (Fact Sheet available here).
  • Another new scheme announced was the introduction of a new ‘Help to Buy ISA’ aimed at prospective first time buyers. This fairly generous scheme means that the Government will chip in up to £50 extra per month (up to a ceiling of £3,000) when an eligible saver saves up to £200 per month towards their first home. (Fact Sheet available here).
  • In another ISA reform, savers will now be able to withdraw money from a new Flexible ISA and deposit it back later in the same financial year without losing any of their usual ISA tax benefits. £15,240 will be able to be put into this re-styled savings vehicle. Read more

The Chancellor’s Budget, March 2014

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has now presented his March 2014 Budget to Parliament. There was lots of talk about the economy, growth forecasts, supporting UK businesses and employment – as well as some obvious political spin bearing in mind the European and General Elections are just around the corner – however we thought we’d concentrate on the most important changes, mainly in relation to tax itself as that’s what is going to affect Taxfile customers and readers the most. So here is our snapshot:

For individuals:

  • The threshold before earnings are subject to income tax (the ‘tax-free personal allowance’) is set to rise to £10,500;
  • The higher rate of tax will kick in for earnings above £41,865 from April 2014, rising again to £42,285 in 2015;
  • The first part of the ‘Help to Buy’ equity loan scheme for those aspiring to buy a new home is to be extended until 2020 (previously 2016);
  • The Stamp Duty on homes worth over £500k is to increase to 15% for those which are bought by companies;
  • Inheritance tax will be scrapped for members of the emergency services who “give their lives protecting us”;
  • Cash and Shares ISAs will be merged into a single New ISA (“NISA”). The annual tax-free limit for the NISA will be £15k (£4k for junior equivalent) from 1 July 2014.
  • From April 2015, pensioners will no longer be forced to buy an annuity with their pension fund. They will now be able to cash in as much or as little as they want to from their pension pot.
  • From June 2014, the amount people will be able to invest into Premium Bonds will increase to £40k (from £30k). From 2015 this will rise again to Read more

(Time Sensitive): Tax Year End Changes for Pension Allowances

The start of the new Tax Year on 6 April 2014 – just 6½ weeks away at time of writing – will see two very important changes in relation to pensions allowances.

The first change will affect the ‘Annual Allowance’ (or ‘AA’) which is the annual limit on pension savings attracting tax relief. This limit will be reduced from £50k to £40k (having been as high as £255k back in 2010/11) and includes contributions made by anyone into your pension whether that’s you or your employer. Should your pension savings be greater than this amount then you will have to pay a tax charge and include such information on your Self Assessment tax return. A calculator is available to work out whether you have any unused annual allowance available, this being particularly useful because you are eligible to carry forwards any unused allowance if it exists from the 3 previous tax years. If present the unused allowance can be used to offset against any tax charge.

The second change will affect the ‘Lifetime Allowance‘ (or ‘LTA’) which is the amount payable from a private and/or work pension scheme (excludes State pension) before tax also becomes payable. Having already recently been cut from £1.8 million the LTA is currently set at £1.5 million but will be reduced to £1.25 million from 6 April 2014. The LTA is only applied to pension savings when you actually take your pension benefits, or at certain key events such as reaching the age of 75. Other examples of applicable key events are explained here. Read more

Time for ‘tax year end planning’ (pre-Budget)

The budget will take place on March 19th 2014 so that gives us all just 5 weeks (at time of writing) for ‘tax year end planning’. So perhaps now is the time to start reviewing investments.

N.B. We’re not financial advisers (we are tax agents and accountants) so we can’t give advice on investments. But let us simply point out that if a portfolio shows signs of some gains, one can usually realise up to £10,900 in capital gains for the tax year 2013/2014, without a capital gains tax (CGT) liability coming into force.

It might also be worth considering making the most of ISA allowances before the tax year ends (April 5th). £11,520 can currently be invested into an ISA for the tax year 2013/2014, of which £5,760 maximum can be in a ‘Cash ISA’. Because you cannot carry forward ISA allowances into a new tax year, there is only very limited time remaining to make the most of the current ISA allowance. Tax benefits in relation to ISAs are well recognised in the UK, so much so that the Treasury has already looked at the possibility of capping their total value … and who knows what news the coming Budget will bring in this regard, particularly bearing in mind the continued need for austerity measures to reduce the budget deficit during these troubled economic times.

If you would like independent financial advice, Read more

Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

George OsborneOn 5 December 2013 George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave his Autumn Statement in Parliament. Key announcements included:

  • A rise for the Personal Allowance, as was long-anticipated, to £10,000 in 2014/15;
  • the higher 40% tax rate threshold also increasing to £41,865;
  • A new, transferable, tax allowance of £1,000 for married couples and those in civil partnerships from April 2015;
  • For employees aged under 21 employers will not have to pay Class 1 National Insurance (‘NI’) Contributions on earnings up to the Upper Earnings Limit;
  • Capital Gains Tax (‘CGT’) for future gains will now also apply to NON-resident individuals from April 2015 (previously this had been applied only to UK resident landlords);
  • For 2014/15 the annual ISA subscription limit will increase to £11,880 (of which £5,940 can be in cash);
  • There were also announcements relating to the continuing clamp-down on tax avoidance, improvements and plans for UK infrastructure, and the proposed inheritance tax (‘IHT’) simplification for trusts.

The full speech transcript can be read here or alternatively view the following video recording: Read more

New tax break for married couples

In this recently filmed interview David Cameron said:

“Marriage is a great institution and it helps to build good and strong societies so I think it’s right to back marriage properly in the Income Tax system – most other advanced industrial countries do and it and we should do it too.”

So on the eve of the Conservative Party Conference at the end of September, the Prime Minister began to unveil plans for a new allowance which will benefit an estimated 4 million married couples, including 15,000 in civil partnerships. It is aimed at those who are not in the higher tax-paying rate (so those couples with a taxable income of less than £42,285 in the tax year 2015-16) – so will benefit only those on a middle or lower income. Read more

Confused about your tax code?

A tax code is usually made up of one letter and several numbers, for instance 161L or K567 . A tax code is used by your employer or pension provider to calculate the amount of tax to deduct from your pay or pension. If you have the wrong tax code you could end up paying too much or too little tax.
The letters in your tax code have different meanings:
• L- for those tax payers that are eligible for the basic personal allowance or those that are on the emergency code.
• T-if there are any other items HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) needs to review in your tax code.
• P- for persons aged 65 to 74 and eligible for the full personal allowance.
• V-for persons aged 65 to 74, eligible for the full personal allowance and the full married couple’s allowance (for those born before 6 April 1935 and aged under 75) and estimated to be liable at the basic rate of tax.
• Y-for persons aged 75 or over and eligible for the full personal allowance.

If your tax code has two letters but no number, it normally indicates that you have two or more sources of income and that all of your allowances have been applied to the tax code and income from your main job:
•BR-Is used when all your income is taxed at the basic rate – currently 22 per cent (most commonly used for a second job)
•D0-Is used when all your income is taxed at the higher rate of tax – currently 40 per cent (most commonly used for a second job)
•NT-Is used when no tax is to be taken from your income or pension.

Your employer will use an emergency tax code when you start a new job and your pay is above the PAYE threshold or when you declare on your P46 that this is your only job. Also your employer will use the emergency tax code if you don’t give him/her a P45 when starting a new job.
Taxfile in South London can help you sort out your tax code and make sure you pay the right amount of tax.
If you have paid too much tax under the PAYE code , Taxfile‘s tax accountants in Tulse Hill you will get in touch with the Inland Revenue and request a refund on your behalf.

IHT: Transfer of unused nil-rate band

The Pre-Budget 2007 Report published on Tuesday 9th October announced various changes, one of them referring to the inheritance tax (IHT).
Previously, married couples could transfer an unlimited sum to each other when one died without paying inheritance tax. But when the survivor died, their estate was then taxed at 40% on anything exceeding £300,000.
Couples can now transfer their allowances to each other. When the first person dies, they can transfer their allowance to the second person. When the survivor dies, their beneficiaries can add the two allowances together.
In other words, the change in IHT is concerned with ”the transfer of any unused nil rate band allowance on a person’s death to the estate of their surviving spouse or civil partner.”
It is important to remember that there is a ”permitted period”which is the time limit within which a claim must be made by the personal representative. This is two years from the death of the survivor spouse. If the claim is not be made within the time limit, than a claim may be made by any other person who could be liable to the inheritance tax.
By 2010, the combined tax-free allowance for couples will rise to £700,000.Experts emphasise the need to keep good records, especially where the spouse who dies first does not use the whole of their IHT allowance.
Although this is a great news for married couples or those in civil-partnerships these changes will not help unmarried or non-civil partnership couples, or siblings who share homes.
If you would like to know more details about the way IHT works, you can visit Taxfile’s accountants in South London.