Latest Blogs

15/08/2024

Beware of the lifetime limit when claiming BADR on the sale of the FHL

Beware of the lifetime limit when claiming BADR on the sale of the FHL Landlords with furnished holiday lettings (FHLs) are living in uncertain times. At the time of the 2024 Spring Budget, it was announced that the favourable tax regime for FHLs would be abolished from 6 April 2025. However, the legislation has yet to be enacted and it remains unclear if it will see the light of day.

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15/08/2024

When is a child's income taxable on their parent?

When is a child’s income taxable on their parent? Children may have their own income. This may be in the form of savings income on accounts that they hold or, for older children, income from a paper round or a Saturday job. Like adults, children have their own set of allowances, including a personal allowance and savings and dividend allowances. However, anti-avoidance provisions apply to prevent parents effectively using their children’s tax-free allowances to reduce the tax that they pay.

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15/08/2024

Class 2 NIC refunds made in error - Action to take

Class 2 NIC refunds made in error – Action to take Class 2 National Insurance contributions are flat rate contributions which for 2023/24 and earlier tax years are payable by the self-employed where their profits exceed the relevant trigger threshold.

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11/07/2024

Investing the proceeds from the sale of the family home and the IHT gifts from income exemption

For many people, there will come a time when it becomes sensible or necessary to sell the family home, either to downsize or because of a move to live with a relative or into care. This may result in funds being released, which may be considerable. Thoughts may turn to whether now is the time to pass wealth down to subsequent generations. However, this must be balanced against the needs of retaining sufficient funds to meet one’s own lifestyle and also to meet any current and future care costs.

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11/07/2024

Will paying voluntary NICs boost your pension?

To qualify for a full state pension, you need 35 qualifying years. You can earn these through paying National Insurance contributions or being awarded National Insurance credits. If you will not have sufficient qualifying years for a full state pension when you reach state pension age, you can ‘buy’ additional qualifying years through the payment of voluntary contributions.

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11/07/2024

Letting through a company

The interest restriction for landlords letting residential property on long lets, the proposed abolition of the favourable furnished holiday letting rules and lower rates of corporation tax led many landlords to question whether it would be preferable to let property through a company instead. Like most things, there are pros and cons.

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11/07/2024

Tax implications of letting out your drive

If you have room on your drive, you may be able to earn additional income by letting out one or more parking spaces. This can be done through the various apps that exist for this purpose. You can make your drive available on an ad hoc basis, for example to provide parking near an event or for day trippers to the seaside, or regularly, for example, to commuters if you live near a station. The tax implications will depend on the rental income that you generate.

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14/06/2024

Cash basis by default

For 2024/25 and later tax years, unless they elect otherwise, unincorporated businesses must prepare their accounts and calculate their taxable profit using the cash basis. This is a reversal of the position applying for 2023/24 and earlier tax years, where the accruals basis was the default, but traders who were eligible to use the cash basis could elect to do so if they preferred. To enable the cash basis to operate by default, the restrictions which applied previously have been lifted.

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