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Taxation & Tax Planning

Personal Tax

Today, more and more emphasis is being put on taxpayers' individual responsibilities. If you are self-employed, the Director of a limited company or a higher-rate earner with multiple streams of income, you will need to submit an annual self-assessment tax return. Everyone who is subject to taxation, needs professional advice and support, if they are to optimise their tax position and ensure they meet the compliance requirements.

Personal tax is central to the overall services we provide to both individual and business clients. Our objective is two-fold: we relieve you of the paperwork involved in completing self-assessment forms and checking tax demands, and more importantly, we advise on planning your affairs so that you take maximum advantage of all available tax planning opportunities.

Under the Self-Assessment tax system, you are responsible for paying the correct amount of tax on set dates. You need to be aware of your tax-deductible expenses, relevant dates to pay your tax liability and whether to pay in instalments or not. Since 1996/97-tax year, the Self-Assessment tax system has been in place, and it has undergone various changes since then. This adds to the confusion some people encounter in completing the year-end return.

Utilising your NIL rate band and lower rate tax bands, tax credits, Child Trust Funds, Incentives and Employee Share Schemes, tax-deductible expenses and reliefs can legitimately reduce tax bills.

Our specialist tax team deals with all aspects of personal tax, including:
- Income tax
- Capital Gains tax
- Inheritance tax
- Estate planning
- Trusts
- Revenue enquiries and investigations

The issue of compliance is getting more and more severe and the HM R&C select returns at random and investigate the accuracy of such tax returns. They have up to 12 months from the normal filing date to notify you of their intention to make enquiries. So, it is paramount that you present accurate tax returns to avoid penalties and clay-backs. There are also penalties that could accrue for not keeping your records for the minimum required length of time.

We have the expertise and software to take the headache out of the form filling and compliance aspect of Self Assessment. We can complete tax returns, calculate tax liability and advise you on exactly when to make payments and how much to pay.

Corporation Tax

If you run your business as a company, you will be liable to Corporation tax. The company profits need to be adjusted for tax purposes. Only tax allowable expenses are permissible to be deducted from the income of the company.

Under Corporation Tax Self Assessment (CTSA), the legal responsibility for correctly calculating the corporation tax liability falls on organisations themselves. We understand the issues facing owner-managed organisations and we can prepare tax returns in a timely and efficient manner. We will also calculate your company's tax liability and assist with the calculation of any quarterly instalment payments.

The increased reporting obligations, investigation policies on the part of the tax authorities and harsher penalties for non-compliance mean that your time and resources can be taken up with tax administration. We will help you minimise corporate tax exposure and relieve the administration burden of compliance with current tax legislation. Effective corporate tax planning can also result in significant improvements in the organisations financial position.

We ensure that all necessary adjustments are carried out and all tax reliefs are utilised. We provide tax services on utilisation of all tax deductible B-I-K's, capital allowances on assets, reimbursements made to employees for mileage/petrol payments, gifts to family members etc.

You can take advantage of paying yourself dividends from your business instead of a salary, but you may take better advantage of paying yourself both a dividend and a salary, which will both be subject to income tax.

Why pay more tax when you can pay less? You only need to give us a call. Let us deal with it on your behalf.

Capital Gains Tax

When a capital asset is sold, the gains are subject to capital gains tax. There are capital expenses claimable, tax-exempt bands and technicalities in computing these taxes.

Capital gains tax can be complicated, with so many exemptions and reliefs available. On the positive side, this makes it possible in many cases to reduce or even eliminate a potential tax liability, provided you know your way through this particular 'minefield'.

Our specialist tax team deal with all aspects of capital gains tax. We can advice you on the best way to deal with the sale of an asset in order to minimise or avoid capital gains tax.

Inheritance Tax

When an asset is passed unto another person by way of a gift, it is subject to inheritance tax. In the event of your death, your beneficiaries could pay inheritance tax at 40% on the value of your estate above the exempt rate.

If your estate including the value of your home is worth £500,000, that could mean a high tax bill. Imagine what the tax figure could be for an estate of £1m?

We can advice you on the best way to deal with the transfer of an asset in order to minimise or avoid inheritance tax.

Why pass the total worth of an asset over to your wife when you can reduce the inheritance tax chargeable on the asset, or why pass the total worth of an asset to your child or anyone else while your spouse is still alive. We will advice on the best way to deal with your assets.

For advice on the various ways of mitigating a potential inheritance tax liability, email us or call us.