What is the optimum pay for 2022/23 – examples

serious ethic businessman working on laptop

Let’s focus on Directors owning their own companies.

A quick summary

  • Primary NI threshold is changing on 6th July 2022
    • Weekly – from £190 to £242
    • Monthly – from 823 to £1048
    • Annually – from £9880 to £12570 (which is also the income tax threshold)

That basically means an Annual amount of £11908 (3 months at £9880 and 9 months at £12570), £11908 is £992.33 per month (£12570 is £1047.50 per month).

So £992.33 will be below the Employee NI threshold.

However, the Employer NI threshold will be £9100 (£758.33 per month) and from that level Employers NI will be charged at 15.05% unless you have additional employees and are eligible for the Employment Allowance of £5000 (previously £4000).

Dividend Tax rates for 2022/23

  • Allowance £2000
  • Lower Rate 8.75%
  • Higher Rate 33.75%
  • Additional Rate 39.35%

National Insurance Rates for 2022/23

  • Class 1 to the Upper Earnings Level 13.25%, then 3.25%
  • Employer NI Rate 15.05%
  • Employment Allowance £5000

Here some examples

Example 1

  • Salary £12570
  • Dividends £2000 (dividend allowance)
  • Interest from company £1000 (savings allowance)
  • Total £15570

You will pay Class 1 Employee NI £87.72 (13.25% of (£12570 – £11908) [£662]) and your company will pay £522.24 (15.05% of (£12570 – £9100) [£3470])

Total NI Paid £609.96

The company will have saved 19% (at the lower rate) of (£12570 + £522.24 + £1000) x 19% = £2677.53 as these costs will be offset against profit

In order to get a dividend of £2000 the company will have been taxed £469.14 (19% of the gross amount)

Example 2

  • Salary £11908
  • Interest £1000
  • Dividends £37000

Employers NI will be £422.60

Dividend Tax will be £35000 – (£12570 – £11908) x 8.75% = £3004.58

In order to pay £37000 in dividends the company will need a profit of £45679 and will have paid 19% (assuming lower rate) which is £8679 corporation tax

Summary

In order to qualify for benefits including the state pension you have to earn above the Class 1 NI threshold

So it seems logical to opt for a Salary of £12570 (£1047.50 per month)

Above this level income tax starts at 20% and NI is 13.25% for the employee and 15.05% for the employer, overall thats 48.3% tax and NI (but the employer may be entitled to the employment allowance offsetting the employers NI and gross pay and employers NI are deductible against corporation tax)

If you have lent money to your company its worth paying some interest (at a commercial rate) as that is tax deductible for the company (saving 19% CT) and there is a savings allowance and in addition interest is not subject to NI, income tax starts at 20%

Dividends are better than salary because there is a £2000 allowance and then tax starts at 8.75%, but remember the company will have paid 19% CT on profits, so overall at lower rates of tax that 27.75% tax but dividends can only be paid if you make a profit or have profit reserves in the balance sheet.

If you are a client and want to try a specific combination perhaps adding other sources of income, let us know.

steve@bicknells.net

Have you remortgaged? will that restrict the recovery of interest beyond the Section 24 rules?

Many Buy To Let properties were purchased in individual names, that was norm before, then from 2017/18 we saw the introduction of clause 24 (section 24).

Essentially Section 24 removes Interest from the property expenses and gives you tax relief (finance allowance) at 20% (basic rate). So Higher rate tax payers will pay more tax.

Historically, its been common for BTL owners to regularly remortgage and with draw capital, basically cashing in on house price rises.

But what many owners seem to have overlooked is that if the mortgage exceeds the original property value (including SDLT and related costs) plus any improvement costs, then the mortgage interest is further restricted.

Increasing a mortgage

If you increase your mortgage loan on your buy-to-let property you may be able to treat interest on the additional loan as a revenue expense, as long as the additional loan is wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the letting business.

Interest on any additional borrowing above the capital value of the property when it was brought into your letting business is not tax deductible.

If the mortgage is for a residential property then the restrictions on interest from April 2017 will apply.

Examples of how to work out Income Tax when you rent out a property – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

steve@bicknells.net

Can you offset trading losses against interest received?

Many property investors lend to other property companies via their company, often in a Joint Venture approach because 100% LTV isn’t available.

Their property business could have losses from their trading activity but the losses can’t be offset against interest received unless its an integral part of the business.

General test – whether an integral part of the business

The general test is that interest normally rank as trade receipts only where it is an integral part of the business operations to employ capital to produce such income, for example, in the case of banks and other financial concerns.

HMRC practice regarding interest

In the particular case of interest on investments, the HMRC view is that interest on an investment may be treated as trading income if:
# the investment is for a short term and
# it is an integral feature of the trading activity to make such an investment and
# the funds deposited can be regarded as continuing to be employed in the business and to form part of the current working capital.

Investments made in the course of banking, insurance and other financial trades will normally meet these conditions.

Investments by non-financial concerns are unlikely to meet these conditions, if for example they:

# endure from one period of account to another, or
# represent capital even if it is only temporarily surplus to requirements, or
# although short term, represent part of a series of deposits which together constitute a long term setting aside of part of the capital.

The rules are in

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim62201

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim40800

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/corporate-finance-manual/cfm32020

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/4/section/298

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim40805

 

steve@bicknells.net

 

 

How will Clause 24 affect you?

Clause 24 of the Finance Bill sets out restrictions for individuals on claiming mortgage interest as a cost against their property investment income, for individuals it will work as follows

2017/18 75% of the interest can be claimed in full and 25% will get relief at 20%

2018/19 50% of the interest can be claimed in full and 50% will get relief at 20%

2019/20 25% of the interest can be claimed in full and 75% will get relief at 20%

2020/21 100% will get only 20% relief

These rules will not apply to Companies, Companies will continue to claim full relief.

The rules also don’t apply to Furnished Holiday Lets.

Essentially Section 24 removes Interest from the property expenses and gives you tax relief at 20% (basic rate). So Higher rate tax payers will pay more tax.

The Mortgage Works have a spreadsheet calculator that demonstrates this and also incorporates other profits and income.

www.themortgageworks.co.uk/includes/xls/T1036_Tax_Change_Calculator.xlsx

steve@bicknells.net

If my company pays me interest will it be taxed?

Companies often borrow from their directors, especially property companies as 100% loan to value loans may not be available from lenders.

If the company pays interest on the loan it will have to register with HMRC and prepare CT61 returns

Click to access ct61-notes-2010.pdf

The CT61 requires the company to deduct 20% tax on the interest.

The Director may be entitled to the interest tax free

Personal Savings Allowance

You may also get up to £1,000 of interest tax-free depending on which Income Tax band you’re in. This is your Personal Savings Allowance.

Income Tax band Tax-free savings income
Basic rate £1,000
Higher rate £500
Additional rate £0

Savings covered by your allowance

Your allowance applies to interest from:

  • bank and building society accounts
  • savings and credit union accounts
  • unit trusts, investment trusts and open-ended investment companies
  • peer-to-peer lending

So the Personal Savings Allowance should cover Directors Loans as explained in accountingweb

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/business-tax/paying-interest-to-the-director

If you are lending to your company you should make sure that its at a market rate and you may want to consider your security for the loan.

You could opt for a charge at Companies House but at the very least you should have a loan agreement.

steve@bicknells.net

When is Mortgage Interest a tax allowable expense?

what

There are ways that you can claim tax relief for your mortgage interest.

Qualifying Loan Interest Relief

Often when you start a business you will need to borrow money personally to lend to your new company or buy shares.

You might borrow by increasing your mortgage.

You may be entitled to claim tax relief for interest paid on a loan or alternative finance arrangement used to buy:

  • shares in, or to fund, a ‘close’ company (contact your HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) office if you are not sure if the company is ‘close’)
  • an interest in, or to fund, a partnership
  • plant or machinery for your work (but make sure you do not claim this interest twice, you will do if you have already deducted it as a business expense)

If you receive a low-interest or interest free loan from your employer for one of the above purposes you may be able to claim relief for any benefit taxable on you.

This is called ‘Qualifying loan interest relief’, HMRC have a helpsheet which gives further details HS340

Property Investors/Buy to Let

At the moment property investors can also offset mortgage relief against their profits but the rules are changing.

2017/18 75% of the interest can be claimed in full and 25% will get relief at 20%

2018/19 50% of the interest can be claimed in full and 50% will get relief at 20%

2019/20 25% of the interest can be claimed in full and 75% will get relief at 20%

2020/21 100% will get only 20% relief

For a 20% tax payer that’s fine but for higher rate taxpayer its a disaster that will lead to them paying a lot more tax

These rules will not apply to Companies, Companies will continue to claim full relief.

How much can you borrow?

In summary if you re-mortgage above the original market value and you own the property personally and take out the cash you will not be able to claim relief from interest on the part above the original market value

If however you borrow to invest in another property that is ok.

steve@bicknells.net

Have you declared tax on your bank rewards?

Pretty Young Woman Withdrawing Money at the Bank Machine

In April 2016 the PSA (Personal Savings Allowance) came into force.

The PSA applies to all non-ISA cash savings and current accounts, and will allow some savers to receive a generous portion of their interest totally free of tax.

95% of savings will no longer be taxed.

Basic rate taxpayers will receive £1,000 in savings income tax free, higher rate taxpayers get a band of £500 and additional rate tax payers get nothing.

Sounds great but the key word is ‘Interest

Some banks have been giving ‘Rewards‘ instead of interest and these fall outside of the scope of the new PSA and as such will be taxable, for example..

Click to access benefits-document.pdf

http://www.barclays.co.uk/PersonalBanking/P1242689794073

https://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/current-accounts/reward-current-account/Default.asp

Currently Cash Back on spending doesn’t count as a reward so that is ok and not subject to tax.

I think this situation is confusing and could lead to taxpayers incorrectly failing to declare rewards thinking that they were interest!

 

steve@bicknells.net

More Tax for Landlords

Mosaïque de logements

The Summer Budget 2015 was not great news for Landlords!

The 10% Wear & Tear allowance will end in April 2016 and landlords will only be able to claim for actual expenditure, this could have a ‘cap’ and restrictions, we await the full details. Many landlords will be disappointed at the loss of this useful tax relief.

From April 2017 tax relief on interest will be restricted so that by 2020 it will not be an allowable expense against profit but will attract 20% tax relief.

steve@bicknells.net

Why you should maximise borrowings on your Buy to Let

Investment House Meaning Investing In Real Estate

If you own a Buy to Let property as an individual rather than in a limited company it is worth maximising your borrowings against the Buy to Let because the interest will be a tax deductible expense.

It doesn’t matter how you borrow:

  • Mortgage on the Buy to Let
  • Personal Loan
  • Overdraft
  • Re-mortgage of your main residence to invest in your Buy to Let

The rules allowing this are covered in http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim45700.htm

So, for example, if you had a Buy to Let property with low borrowings against it and a mortgage on your main private residence, you could increase your borrowings on the Buy to Let and pay off your private residence mortgage.

But you need to be aware that the maximum you can borrow on the Buy to Let is the market value when it was first let.

Here is an example from Tax Cafe – How to save property tax

Property investors are often unsure whether their interest is deductible. This depends on how the money is used. Use it to buy investment property and the interest is tax deductible. Use it for personal reasons and the interest is not deductible.

There is an exception to this rule: you can generally remortgage an investment property up to its original purchase price and the interest will be tax deductible, whatever you use the money for. For example, let’s say you bought a buy-to-let for £100,000 and the current mortgage is £60,000. You can borrow up to another £40,000 (if the bank will let you!) and all the interest will be tax deductible, no matter how you use it.

 

You will need to keep detailed records of the borrowing and interest for your tax returns.

Alternatively you might focus on paying off your main residence mortgage first to leave the borrowings high on the Buy to Let.

steve@bicknells.net

Save for Children but save tax where you can

Mother and daughter with piggy bank

Many parents, grandparents and other family members like to save for children but are you paying tax on the interest?

The £100 Rule

HMRC Form R85 is used to claim interest tax free but what you might not realise is that despite your child having a personal tax allowance from birth there is a maximum of £100 per year which can earned tax free in interest and dividends earned on parental/family gifts.

So for 2 parents that’s £200 plus grandparents have the same exemption, but if the interest exceeds the limit even by a small amount, the exemption is lost and whole amount of interest becomes taxable.

Junior ISA

Children can have an ISA in their name, the maximum annual contribution limit is £3,720 (2013/14) in cash or shares but the money will be locked in until the child is 18. The £100 rule doesn’t apply to ISA’s.

Pension

Yes, crazy as it might sound your baby can start a pension plan.

You can receive 20% tax relief even if you don’t pay tax. The maximum you can contribute is £3,600 gross – a payment of £2,880 to which the taxman adds £720. This is the case even for people who don’t pay tax, such as children and non-earning spouses.

steve@bicknells.net