Your home – when you sell your main residence this is usually exempt from any capital gains tax. If you have two homes you have two years from the date you buy it to make an election that states it should be regarded as your main residence for capital gains tax exemption. Once you make…
In spring 2017 the way the government funds apprenticeships in England is changing. Some employers will be required to contribute to a new apprenticeship levy, and there will be changes to the funding for apprenticeship training for all employers. We are introducing the apprenticeship levy on 6 April 2017. The levy requires all employers operating…
Here at Bells we have had a number of clients contact us to ask if an email they have received, seemingly from HMRC, is genuine. The email often has HMRC’s logo on it and appears quite official, usually stating that the taxpayer is due a refund and asking them to follow a link to claim…
If you own shares in a company you may well pay yourself via a dividend. Previously, if you were a basic rate tax payer you were not required to pay any additional tax on dividends. As of 6 April 2016, you won’t pay tax on the first £5,000 of dividends that you get in the…
HMRC are proposing to introduce a new category of trade to the flat rate scheme called a ‘limited cost trader’, this new category will use a flat rate percentage of 16.5%. The flat rate scheme was initially introduced as a simplified way of dealing with VAT, however many businesses make extra profit by being on…
There can be many positives to buying a business, rather than building one from scratch. It can save a lot of time and effort on your part if you are taking over systems, processes and even a customer base that is already established and working. Buying a business can be very risky though, and here…
Paying employees cash is not illegal, you can pay your employees via various methods via online banking, cheque or cash. However, you must be aware of the tax and NIC implications of how much you are paying an employee and all amounts still need to be reported to the HMRC via Real Time Information. For…
Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put their staff into a pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’. Auto-enrolment of workplace pensions has actually been in existence in the UK since 2012, initially targeting the big employers. Now it is the turn of small and micro…
Your business name – When registering a limited company you are not allowed to use a name that is in use by someone else. Your registered office – This is the address that your company is registered at with Companies House. This means the address will be available on public record. If you currently work…
How do things work now? You can pay yourself from your limited company in two ways, via salary or dividends. Most directors pay themselves a small salary topped up with dividends. Dividends are paid after Corporation tax has been charged, they are paid out of money that has already been taxed once. Currently there is…
