Wokingham Accountants
If you are the owner of a personal or family company, it is prudent to review your dividend strategy before the 2024/25 tax year comes to an end as assessing whether paying a dividend before 6 April 2025 would be beneficial. Sufficient retained profits The first point to note is that dividends are payable from … Read more
When starting a business, there are various decisions to make and tasks to perform. One of the first questions to address is whether to run the business as a sole trader, whether to set up a partnership with others or whether to form a company. The way in which a business is operated will determine … Read more
The payment of National Insurance contributions is linked to entitlement to the state pension. If sufficient National Insurance contributions of the right type are paid for a tax year, that year counts as a qualifying year for state pension and benefit purposes. A person may also secure a qualifying year if they are awarded National … Read more
If you are self-employed, you will pay tax on your taxable profit. In working out your taxable profit, you can deduct certain expenses that you have incurred in running your business. The basic rule is that expenses can be deducted if they are incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade. This rule … Read more
One of the key announcements in the Autumn 2024 Budget was the rise in employer’s National Insurance contributions from 6 April 2025. From that date, the rate of secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions is increased by 1.2 percentage points, from 13.8% to 15%. In a further blow, the secondary threshold – the point above … Read more
Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) is a valuable relief which reduces the rate of capital gains tax payable on gains made on the disposal of all or part of a business or the sale of shares in a personal trading company. The relief was previously known as Entrepreneurs’ Relief. A sole trader selling all or … Read more
Employers looking to spread some seasonal cheer can do so in a tax-efficient manner by taking advantage of the exemptions for annual parties and functions and trivial benefits. Christmas parties The tax exemption for annual parties and functions will only apply to a Christmas party if the following conditions are met. Some points are worthy … Read more
The way in which you operate your business determines the taxes that you pay and also your reporting obligations. If you work for yourself and run your business on your own as an individual other than through a limited company, you are a sole trader. By contrast, if you operate your business through a personal … Read more
A sole trader or proprietor of an unincorporated business may incur training costs. The tax treatment of those costs depends on whether the costs are regarded as ‘revenue’ or ‘capital’ expenditure. HMRC have revised their guidance in this area, expanding the range of training for which a deduction is available. Old rules Previously, HMRC only … Read more
A tax charge may arise under the benefit in kind legislation where a company van is available for an employee’s private use. If fuel is also provided for private journeys, a separate fuel benefit tax charge arises. The van and fuel benefit charges for 2023/24 have now been announced. Van benefit charge The van benefit … Read more
