Tag: tax

Online traders targeted by HMRC

Online Shopping

The Revenue has sent 14,000 letters to traders suspected of running a business and failing to declare this on their tax returns.

Of these, 1,000 letters are being sent to people where the taxman has already identified a shortfall on their self-assessment forms.

Some of those targeted make as little as £100 profit online.

It was reported in the Telegraph that eBay, Etsy, Amazon and Gumtree are being forced to hand over customer account details, including their selling activity, as part of the taxman’s legal powers that were extended last year.

The criteria used to assess if an activity is a hobby or a business are:

  • The size and commerciality of the activity.
  • The frequency of the activity and transactions
  • The application of business principles.
  • Whether there is a genuine profit motive.
  • The amount of time devoted to the activities.
  • The existence of arm’s-length customers (as opposed to just selling your wares to family and friends).

HMRC have some great examples to help you decided, for example

Gail is a full-time employee working for a stationery company. She pays her PAYE tax on this employment every month.

In her free time Gail makes cushions and uses most of them in her home. Occasionally she sells them to friends and work colleagues for an amount that just covers the cost of materials of £15. Sometimes she makes a loss. Any money she does make goes towards her holiday fund.

She decides to make extra cash by selling cushions on an Internet auction site and starts auctioning three or four to see how they go. They all sell for more than £50, a profit of at least £35 each.

She uses this money to buy more materials and within a month she is selling around ten cushions a week, always at a profit, and is considering setting up her own website.

Gail’s initial sales of cushions to friends are not classed as trading. It lacks commerciality and she does not set out to make a profit. The occasional sales are a by-product of her hobby. Once she begins to auction her cushions, she has moved into the realms of commerciality.

She is systematically selling her goods to make a profit. She will need to inform HMRC about her trade, and keep records of all her transactions. On the level of sales shown in the example the potential turnover of around £26,000 is well below the VAT annual threshold so Gail does not need to register for VAT.

Many traders start off in a small way and don’t realise that they need to register with HMRC, they assume their activity will be treated as a hobby, but things can grow quickly.

You should register as Self Employed as soon as your hobby becomes a commercial venture, even if you are losing money!

If you don’t register, HMRC will be looking for you and if you have an online business it won’t be hard for them to find you.

steve@bicknells.net

HMRC update the Employment Status Tool

Determining whether a worker is Employed or Self Employed isn’t always easy.

HMRC updated and improved their tool in April 2015.

The Employment Status Indicator (ESI) tool enables you to check the employment status of an individual or group of workers – that is whether they are employed or self-employed for tax, National Insurance contributions (NICs) or VAT purposes.

The ESI tool is essential for anyone who takes on workers, such as employers and contractors. (The tool refers to anyone in this position as an engager.) Individual workers can also use the tool to check their own employment status.

The tool cannot, however, be used to check the employment status of certain workers:

  1. company directors or other individuals who hold office
  2. agency workers
  3. anyone providing services through an intermediary (sometimes referred to as IR35 arrangements)

The ESI tool is completely anonymous, so no personal details about the worker or engager are requested.

Click here to use the HMRC Tool

https://stevejbicknell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/workers.jpg

steve@bicknells.net

Any excuse will do to avoid £100 Self Assessment Penalty

the dog ate my homework

On Saturday the BBC announced..

People who have filed late tax returns have been let off paying a £100 fine for missing the deadline, HM Revenue and Customs has confirmed.

But the penalty has only been waived for individuals who provide a “reasonable” excuse for being late.

According to the BBC HMRC will not be checking the excuses as in previous years, they will simply accept them without questioning them.

So what are reasonable excuses?

Here are some excuses that HMRC have accepted

  1. a failure in the HMRC computer system
  2. your computer breaks down just before or during the preparation of your online return
  3. a serious illness, disability or serious mental health condition has made you incapable of filing your tax return
  4. you registered for HMRC Online Services but didn’t get your Activation Code in time
  5. it was lost in the post HMD Response International v’s HMRC 2011 The accountant produced a contemporaneous note in his office diary for 16 May showing that he had filed the return.
  6. “Impecuniosity”Maxine Barron v’s HMRC
  7. Cashflow difficulties caused by a change in CIS Status Kincaid v’s HMRC 2011

steve@bicknells.net

Is my Grant Capital or Revenue?

Businessman With Gold Bar

A grant is an amount of money given to an individual or business for a specific project or purpose.

You can apply for a grant from the government, the European Union, local councils and charities.

Advantages include:

  • you won’t have to pay a grant back or pay interest on it
  • you won’t lose any control over your business

Financial assistance in the form of grants is subject to the normal taxation rules, as supplemented by S105 Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 and S102 Corporation Tax Act 2009 (see BIM40465). Under normal rules the tax treatment of grants will depend on whether they are capital or revenue.

Revenue grants

Grants which meet revenue expenditure, such as interest payable, are normally trading receipts.

See also Smart v Lincolnshire Sugar Co. Ltd [1937] 20TC643 and Burman v Thorn Domestic Appliances (Electrical) Ltd [1981] 55TC493.

Capital grants

Grants which meet capital expenditure are normally not trading receipts.

Grants that may be capital in nature include those paid to acquire capital assets or to facilitate the cessation of a trade or part of a trade.

See The Seaham Harbour Dock Co. v Crook [1931] 16TC333).

A capital grant reduces any qualifying capital expenditure for capital allowance purposes, see CA14100.

See BIM40451 for more details

The Accounting Rules are set out in section 24 of FRS102, neatly explained by Steve Collings in his blog, click here to read it

steve@bicknells.net

What is Overlap Profit?

what

Overlap Profit affects Sole Traders and Partnerships, here are a couple of examples from BIM81080

Example 1 – one overlap period

A business commences on 1 October 2010. The first accounts are made up for the 12 months to 30 September 2011 and show a profit of £45,000.

The basis periods for the first three tax years are:

2010-2011 Year 1 1 October 2010 to 5 April 2011
2011-2012 Year 2 12 months to 30 September 2011
2012-2013 Year 3 12 months to 30 September 2012

The period from 1 October 2010 to 5 April 2011 (187 days) is an `overlap period’.

Example 2 – more than one overlap period

The business in Example 1 continues. In 2015-2016 the accounting date is changed from 30 September to 30 April. The accounts for the 12 months to 30 September 2014 show a profit of £75,000. The relevant conditions for a change of basis period are met (see BIM81045).

The basis periods are:

2014-2015 Year 5 12 months to 30 September 2014
2015-2016 Year 6 12 months to 30 April 2015
2016-2017 Year 7 12 months to 30 April 2016

The period from 1 May 2014 to 30 September 2014 (153 days) is an `overlap period’.

If the taxable profit for 2015-2016 is computed using days, it includes the profits for the `overlap period’ of 153 days (£75,000 x 153/365 = £31,438).

Adding together the overlap profits for the first overlap period of 187 days in Example 1 (£23,054) and the second overlap period of 153 days (£31,438), gives total overlap profits of £54,492 over 340 days.

Tax Cafe point out in their guide ‘Small Business Tax Saving Tactics‘

Why Hasn’t Everyone ‘Cashed In’ Their Overlap Relief Already?

There are two ways to gain access to your overlap relief: cease trading or change your accounting date.

Ceasing to trade is a drastic step: generally not something you are likely to do purely for tax planning purposes. However, it is worth noting that transferring your business to a company is also classed as ‘ceasing to trade’ for these purposes.

Changing your accounting date to access your overlap relief is less drastic, but the downside is that the relief only arises where you are being taxed on more than twelve months’ worth of profit. Despite this, however, there is still generally an overall saving to be made where current profits are at a lower level than the profits arising when the ‘overlap’ first arose. So, with the economy in the state it’s in, now could be a good time to ‘cash in’!

There is also some useful advice in Helpsheet HS222

steve@bicknells.net

Does your tax agent ask for too many refunds?

SA100 tax return form with calculator and pencil lying on table

High Volume Agents (HVAs) deal with large numbers of clients, often for a short time only, and make repayment claims or submit returns that generate repayments.

HVAs usually

  • provide services on a commission or ‘no repayment no fee’ basis
  • target clients in a specific trade or industry, for example the construction industry
  • submit high numbers of repayment claims relating to expenses incurred in their clients’ employment or trade
  • receive the tax repayment as a nominee for their client
  • are not members of a professional taxation accountancy body, although some of their staff may hold professional qualifications
  • have little or no face to face contact with their clients as much of their business is carried out electronically.

A repayment claim can be made using any of the following

  • P87
  • stand alone claim by correspondence
  • Self Assessment tax return
  • unsolicited return.

The range of expenses claimed that results in a repayment usually include

  • travel
  • subsistence
  • overnight accommodation
  • cost of food
  • use of home
  • wife, civil partner or relative’s wages
  • cost of tools
  • protective or specialist clothing
  • laundry
  • telephone costs.

Further details in CH820000

HMRC have targeted firms with as few as 30 clients! so don’t think it only applies to large scale operations

HMRC are particularly interested in claims where the expenses are more that 10% higher than the income.

An agent’s poor technical ability that puts tax at risk will generally fall into one or more of the following categories

  • bookkeeping or accounting errors
  • computational errors
  • lack of tax knowledge or expertise
  • unreasonable or untenable technical views.

HVA’s are asked to enter into a memorandum of understanding agreements which are designed to check clients are paying the correct tax, in general this is likely to result in higher tax payments.

So be careful who you ask to be you agent! your tax saving might be short lived.

 

steve@bicknells.net

 

Have you been over taxed on your pension withdrawal?

This is exactly how I pictured the partners lounge

You should be able to withdraw 25% of your pension tax free, but your pension provider will tax you on payments above this level.

If they don’t hold a current P45, the pension provider will apply an emergency tax code on a month 1/week 1 basis, which could mean you pay too much tax.

You will need these forms to reclaim the tax

Form P50Z – if the client has chosen to empty all their pension pot in one go and they have no other PAYE or pension income (other than the state pension);

Form P53Z – if the client has chosen to empty all their pension pot in one go and they do have other PAYE or pension income other than the state pension;

Form P55 – where the client has taken a lump sum payment which doesn’t use up all of their pension pot, they have only taken a single payment and don’t intend to take further payments in that tax year.

steve@bicknells.net

Can my children own shares in my company?

Young working boy with tie on computer

The s660 rules (or settlements legislation) have been around since the 1930s.

The rules stop you passing income to someone else in the family, or giving income or assets to someone else in an effort to reduce your overall tax bill. This is called a “settlement”, and the aim of the legislation is to stop people settling their income on another person who pays tax at a lower rate. (Contractor UK)

There are some interesting cases where business owners have tried to pass shares to their children unsuccessfully

Copeman v Coleman [1939] 22 TC 594

A company had been formed to take over the taxpayer’s business. He held the shares equally with his wife. Later the company created a class of preference shares of £200 each carrying a fixed preferential dividend, the right to vote if such dividend were in arrear for three years or more and the right in a winding up to a return of capital paid up. Some of the shares were taken up by his children on which they paid £10 per share. Dividends substantially in excess of the amounts paid up were then declared and the taxpayer, on behalf of his children claimed repayment of the tax paid in respect of the dividend to the extent of that child’s personal allowance. (http://swarb.co.uk/copeman-v-coleman-1939/)

Crossland v Hawkins [1961] 39 TC 493

The taxpayer, a well known film actor, agreed to work through a company for three years being paid £50 per week. The shares were transferred to his wife and accountant. His father in law set up a £100 settlement for the benefit of his children of which his wife and accountant were the trustees. The fund was used to subscribe for the remaining 98 shares. He appeared in a film for which the company was paid £25,000. The company paid a dividend which was applied by the trustees for the benefit of the children. Jack Hawkins then applied on behalf of his children for a repayment of tax to give effect to their personal allowances. The repayment claim was rejected on the grounds that the whole arrangement was a settlement of which Jack Hawkins was a settlor because he had provided the funds for it. (http://swarb.co.uk/crossland-v-hawkins-ca-1961/)

Butler v. Wildin [1989] STC 22

A company was formed by two brothers who acted as unpaid directors. Shares in the company were initially held by their infant children, which were paid out of gifts from their grandparents. The company acquired a development site using a bank loan, which was guaranteed by the brothers. The company subsequently became profitable, and dividends were subsequently paid to the infant shareholders. The High Court held that the children’s investment of ‘trifling sums’ in the shares and the parent’s provision of services to the company constituted an arrangement. An element of bounty was given by the parents in the free provision of their skill and services, and by adopting any financial risk in the company’s venture. Dividends paid to those children born before the arrangements were made (but not dividends in respect of shares transferred to children born afterwards, as there was no apparent arrangement to benefit future children) were taxable on the parents, under what is now section 660B.(http://www.taxationweb.co.uk/tax-articles/business-tax/is-that-settled-then.html)

Jeremy Vine

Which brings us to the new case of Jeremy Vine

Mr Vine appears to have been using his ten-year-old daughter Martha to avoid tax payments.

The presenter of the Jeremy Vine Show and the TV quiz Eggheads, has been funnelling cash through a limited company, Jelly Vine Productions, of which she is a shareholder.

Jelly Vine Productions had almost £810,000 in cash on its books in 2013 – the last accounts available, and £1million in 2012. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2983593/Jeremy-Vine-daughter-10-shareholder-lower-tax-bill.html#ixzz3Z09xqmtO

The rules are clear on this and income given to children under 18 will be taxed on their parents so what did his advisers have in mind?
steve@bicknells.net

Will you be taxed if you inherit a Pension Fund?

Signing Last Will and Testament

IHT only applies if the pension company has to pay the value of your scheme to your estate, in which case it becomes like any other asset, but generally the pension pot is held in a discretionary trust, which means it isn’t taxed on death.

You can now nominate anyone not just dependents to be the beneficiary.

Since 6th April 2015 anyone who inherits a pension fund from a person who dies before the age of 75 is entitled to receive it tax free and the you can take the money as a lump sum or income. Once over 75 a special tax of 45% applies (previously 55%), you could reduce this by taking a regular income.

From 6th April 2016 the 45% tax is likely to be scrapped and income tax rates will be applied.

The BBC website has a useful post which explains the changes in 10 questions, click here to read it

steve@bicknells.net

 

 

Falling HMRC Fuel Rates – are your claims right?

mann im auto

The rates only apply when you either:

  • reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars
  • require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel

If you pay a rate per mile for business travel no higher than the AFR, for the particular engine size and fuel type, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will accept there is no taxable profit and no Class 1A National Insurance to pay.

You can use your own rates which better reflect your circumstances if, for example, your cars are more fuel efficient, or if the cost of business travel is higher than the guideline rates.

Advisory Fuel Rates from 1 March 2015

These rates applied from 1 March 2015. You can use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.

Engine size Petrol – amount per mile LPG – amount per mile
1400cc or less 11p 8p
1401cc to 2000cc 13p 10p
Over 2000cc 20p 14p
Engine size Diesel – amount per mile
1600cc or less 9p
1601cc to 2000cc 11p
Over 2000cc 14p

 

COMPANY car mileage rates have been slashed by up to 18% as HMRC cut the tax allowance across all six of the petrol and diesel categories in response to continuing fuel price falls.

Hardest hit by the rates, known as advisory fuel rates (AFR), are drivers of company cars with petrol engines greater than 1,401cc which have suffered a 3p cut in rates applicable from 1 March.

Business Car Manager

steve@bicknells.net