20
Jun, 2024

Post cessation transactions

Tax relief may be available for post-cessation expenses of a trade. To be an allowable post-cessation expense the trade must have ceased and the expense must have been deductible in calculating the trading profits.

This means that the expense still has to meet the wholly and exclusively test and be revenue, not capital, expenditure. The expenditure can be apportioned if necessary. The way in which post-cessation expenses can be relieved depends on the person incurring the expenditure and the type of expenditure involved.

The following are examples of expenses that would likely be categorised as post-cessation expenses:

  • remedying defective work done, goods supplied, or services rendered while the business was continuing or as damages in respect of such defective work, goods or services whether awarded by a Court or agreed during negotiations on a claim;
  • paying legal or other professional expenses incurred in connection with the costs above;
  • insuring against liabilities arising out of any such claim or against the incurring of such expenses; and
  • collecting, or seeking to collect, debts which were taken into account in computing the profits of the trade before discontinuance.

An expense specifically relating to the cessation itself is not an allowable deduction for tax purposes.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 17-06-2024
20
Jun, 2024

Reclaiming pre-trading VAT

There are special rules that determine the recoverability of VAT incurred before a business registered for VAT. This type of VAT is known as pre-registration input VAT. There are different rules for the supply of goods and services, but VAT can only be reclaimed if the pre-registration expenses relate to the supply of taxable goods or services by the newly VAT registered business.

The time limit is backdated from the date of registration and is:

  • 4 years for goods on hand, or that were used to make other goods on hand; and
  • 6 months for services.

The pre-trading VAT input tax should be reclaimed on a business's first VAT return. When a new VAT registration is applied for, there is an option to backdate the registration (known as the effective date of registration), this option should be considered if there is additional input tax that will be made recoverable.

There are special rules for partially exempt businesses and for businesses that have non-business income and for the purchase of capital items within the capital goods scheme.

HMRC’s internal guidance on the issue provides interesting examples. One of those relate to the purchase of a van by an individual for wholly private purposes. Three years later the individual registers for VAT and uses the van exclusively within their business. The VAT incurred on the purchase of the van will never be recoverable because there were no business activities at the time the van was bought.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 17-06-2024
17
Jun, 2024

Are we unpaid tax collectors?

Business owners often refer to VAT as if it were a cost to their business regardless of their VAT position; whether they are registered for VAT or not.

If you are not registered for VAT, you do not have to add VAT to your sales and you cannot recover any VAT you pay on purchases. In which case, under these circumstances, VAT is a cost.

If you are registered for VAT, cash you collect from your customers will include VAT – if the sales are subject to VAT – and you will pay the VAT collected (less any VAT you pay on purchases) to HMRC. As you are collecting VAT from your customers, paying VAT on purchases to your suppliers and paying the difference to HMRC, there is no overall cost to your business.

Whilst there is no effect on profitability if you are registered for VAT, if you have to pay over VAT added to your sales before our customers pay our bills then there can be a cashflow issue. Fortunately, HMRC allow those affected in this way to use a special process called cash accounting for VAT. If you qualify for this method, you will only pay VAT added to your sales when your customers pay you, and conversely, you can only reclaim VAT on purchases when you have paid for them.

In which case, VAT registered businesses are unpaid tax collectors.

We are obliged by law to keep our records in a certain way and make payments to HMRC based on strict filing and payment rules.

The government does not compensate us for our time in meeting these record keeping, filing and payment obligations, and we will be penalised for exceeding filing and payment deadlines.

Source:Other | 16-06-2024
17
Jun, 2024

Child Benefit for 16 – 19 year olds

More than a million parents will receive reminders to extend Child Benefit for their teenagers if they are continuing their education or training after their GCSEs.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is sending more than 1.4 million Child Benefit reconfirmation letters to parents between 24 May and 17 July. The letters will include a QR code which, when scanned, directs them straight to GOV.UK to update their claim quickly and easily online.

Child Benefit is worth up to £1,331 a year for the first or only child, and up to £881 a year for each additional child. Payments will automatically stop on 31 August on or after the child has turned 16 unless parents renew their claim where their child is continuing in education.

Parents have until 31 August to act, or their payments will automatically stop.

Letting HMRC know digitally that a child is continuing in education is the quickest way to get it sorted, with no need to contact HMRC by phone or post.

If you have not received a letter by 17 July, there is no need to worry – if eligible, you can still extend your Child Benefit claim via GOV.UK or the HMRC app.

Child Benefit can continue to be paid for children who are studying full time in approved non-advanced education, which includes:

  • A levels or Scottish Highers
  • International Baccalaureate
  • Home education – if it started before their child turned 16, or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs and it was assessed by the local authority
  • T levels
  • NVQs, up to level 3.

Child Benefit will also continue for children studying on one of these unpaid approved training courses:

  • in Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme;
  • in Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work;
  • in Scotland: Employability Fund programme and No One Left Behind.

If a child changes their mind about further education or training, parents can simply inform HMRC online or in the HMRC app and payments will be adjusted accordingly.

Parents will need a Government Gateway user ID and password to use HMRC’s online services. If they do not have one already, they can register on GOV.UK  and will just need their National Insurance number or postcode, and 2 forms of ID.

Source:Other | 16-06-2024
13
Jun, 2024

Multiple Dwellings Relief for SDLT

It was announced as part of the Spring Budget 2023 that Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR) was being abolished. This change has now come into effect for transactions which complete, or substantially perform on or after 1 June 2024.

The MDR relief applied to property purchasers who bought more than one dwelling where a transaction or a number of linked transactions included freehold or leasehold interests in more than one dwelling. This was a valuable tax relief that could substantially reduce the amount of SDLT due. The government’s view was that the MDR no longer achieved its original aims in a cost-effective way and consequently the relief has been abolished.

MDR for transactions before 1 June 2024

You can claim MDR when you buy more than one dwelling if a transaction (or a number of linked transactions) includes freehold or leasehold interests in more than one dwelling. This applies to transactions where:

  • contracts were exchanged on or before 6 March 2024;
  • contracts were substantially performed before 1 June 2024; and
  • contracts complete before 1 June 2024.

These transactions are subject to various exclusions.

Source:HM Government | 10-06-2024
13
Jun, 2024

Self-assessment payments on account

Self-assessment taxpayers are usually required to pay their income tax liabilities in three instalments each year. The first two payments on account are due on 31 January during the tax year and 31 July following the tax year end date.

These payments on account are based on 50% each of the previous year’s net income tax liability. In addition, the third (or only) payment of tax will be due on 31 January following the end of the tax year. If you think that your income for the next tax year will be lower than the previous tax year, you can apply to have your payment on account reduced. This can be done using HMRC’s online service or by completing form SA303.

Please note that you do not need to make any payments on account where your net Income Tax liability for the previous tax year is less than £1,000 or if more than 80% of that year’s tax liability has been collected at source.

There are no restrictions on the number of claims to adjust payments on account a taxpayer or agent can make. The payments are based on 50% of your previous year’s net income tax liability. If your liability for 2024-25 is lower than 2023-24 you can ask HMRC to reduce your payment on account. The deadline for making a claim to reduce your payments on account for 2024-25 is 31 January 2026.

If taxable profits have increased there is no requirement to notify HMRC although the final balancing payment will be higher.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 10-06-2024
13
Jun, 2024

Non-resident UK property sales

There are specials rules that apply to UK property sales by non-residents. Since 6 April 2020 non-residents have needed to report and pay any non-resident Capital Gains Tax (CGT) due if they have sold or disposed of:

  • residential UK property or land (land for these purposes also includes any buildings on the land);
  • non-residential UK property or land;
  • mixed use UK property or land; or
  • rights to assets that derive at least 75% of their value from UK land (indirect disposals).

A CGT charge on the sale of UK residential property by non-UK residents was introduced in April 2015. Only the amount of the overall gain relating to the period after 5 April 2015 is chargeable to tax.

A UK non-resident that sells UK residential property needs to deliver a non-resident CGT (NRCGT) return and pay any CGT within 60 days of selling a relevant property. The return must be made whether or not there is any NRCGT to be paid. Even if there is a loss on the disposal and where the taxpayer is due to report the disposal on their self-assessment tax return.

There are penalties for failing to file the NRCGT return within the deadline as well as for failing to pay any tax due on time.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 10-06-2024
13
Jun, 2024

Interest on children’s savings

All children in the UK have their own personal allowance, currently £12,570. There are special rules if a parent gifts significant amounts of money to their children which results in them receiving bank interest of more than £100 (before tax) annually. If this is the case, the parent is liable to pay tax on all the interest if it is above their own Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). These anti-avoidance laws are designed to prevent a child’s personal allowance being used by parents of children aged under 18, with some minimal exceptions.

The PSA allows basic-rate taxpayers to receive interest of up to £1,000 on savings income tax-free. For higher-rate taxpayers the tax-free PSA is £500. Taxpayers paying the additional rate of tax do not benefit from the PSA.

The £100 limit does not apply to money given by grandparents, relatives or friends. In addition, any income from Junior ISA’s or CTF’s is exempt from Income Tax and CGT on the child or the parent even when the invested funds came from the child’s parents. The 2024-25 subscription limit for both CTFs and Junior ISAs is £9,000.

If older children are employed by a parent they can receive income paid as wages subject to the usual employment rules.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 10-06-2024
13
Jun, 2024

Correcting errors in VAT returns

Where an error on a past VAT return is uncovered businesses have a duty to correct the error as soon as possible. As a general rule, any necessary adjustment can be made on a current VAT return. To do this, the errors must be below the reporting threshold.

Under the reporting threshold rule, businesses can make an adjustment on their next VAT return if the net value of the errors is £10,000 or less. The threshold is further increased if the net value of errors found on previous returns is between £10,000 and £50,000 but does not exceed 1% of the total declare sales value for the return period in which the errors are discovered.

HMRC must be separately notified of errors that exceed either of the limits set out above or if the error was deliberate. VAT errors of a net value that exceed the limits for correction on a current return or that were deliberate should be notified to HMRC by making the correction online or submitting form VAT 652 (or providing the same information in letter format) to HMRC's VAT Error Correction team.

HMRC can also charge penalties of up to 100% of any tax under-stated or over-claimed if you file an inaccurate return.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 10-06-2024
13
Jun, 2024

Types of HMRC enquiries

HMRC can enquire into any statutory return (or amendment of that return) or statutory claim to check if the return / claim has been prepared correctly or if further information is required.

HMRC’s internal manuals state that there is no statutory definition of an enquiry, so it carries its normal dictionary meaning of `seeking information, asking, questioning’. In practice the nature and extent of enquiries will vary considerably.

HMRC has historically referred to ‘full enquiries’ covering a tax return as a whole, and ‘aspect enquiries’ dealing with one or more matter(s). However, the legislation does not distinguish between different types of enquiries. Therefore, all enquiries into tax returns are legally enquiries into the full return, even if in practice HMRC only need to check part of the return.

If HMRC make no enquiries within the period allowed, or if they have completed an enquiry, the return becomes final unless

  • the taxpayer is still within time to amend their return;
  • the taxpayer has carelessly or deliberately caused a loss of tax; or
  • HMRC discover that the return was incorrect, and the taxpayer had not disclosed enough information to show this. This is known as a discovery assessment. If a discovery is made in such circumstances HMRC can make a discovery assessment up to 6 years (20 years if the taxpayer has failed to notify chargeability) after the end of the relevant accounting period.
Source:HM Revenue & Customs | 10-06-2024