Unlike the Summer Budget, the Autumn Statement 2015 added little that will be of relevance to small businesses: Annual investment allowance The allowance, which gives full tax relief to business investments in assets and equipment, will be reduced from £500,000 to £200,000 from 1 January 2016. The government have now ...more
IR35
What is IR35? HMRC introduced the intermediaries legislation (IR35) in April 2000 to address the situation where an individual would be treated as an employee were it not for the fact that they were providing their services through their own limited company. If HMRC investigate a contract and determine it is caught by ...more
Why choose a specialist chartered accountant?
We often come across small business owners and contractors who use the services of a traditional firm of accountants. When questioned about their businesses, financial issues affecting them and the support they receive from their accountants, a number of issues commonly emerge: Ever increasing fees but the service ...more
Company pension contributions
Given the changes the July 2015 budget made to how dividends are to be taxed, it is now more important than ever for owners of small limited companies to consider how best to withdraw company profits. One important planning strategy is to make or increase company pension contributions: Funds extraction will be from ...more
Taxation of dividends
The July 2015 budget announced changes regarding the taxation of dividends effective from April 2016 - until the Finance Bill is issued a few points are still uncertain: The current system of tax credits is to be withdrawn - dividend income will no longer be grossed up in the personal tax computation. A dividend ...more
Summer budget 2015
The Summer Budget 2015 introduced a number of measures which will directly impact small incorporated businesses: Employment allowance From April 2016 the employment allowance which currently allows an employer to reduce their employer's NI by £2,000 a year will be increased to £3,000 a year. This allowance will however ...more
Home office costs
Small business owners and contractors operating through a limited company commonly work from home at times. Some of the related home office costs may validly be reclaimed: Use the HMRC guidance rate of £4 per week - no records need be provided for claims up to this level, or Claim a reasonable amount by ...more