Pensions

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Q&A – July 2023

26th June 2023
Can services be zero-rated? Q. We have decided to build a bungalow next to our farmhouse so that my partners elderly mother can live in it and be close to us. We have obtained planning permission for the project and have appointed a builder to start the work. The builder will supply labour and materials....

December Q&A

6th December 2022
Is there a new workplace pension scheme? Q. We’ve heard that employers are now able to enrol their employees into a different type of workplace pension scheme. Is this correct? A. Previously, employers were only able to offer their employees defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit pension schemes. However, following changes brought about by the...

Planning for retirement – tax efficiently 

3rd September 2021
There are not many areas of tax planning where one can say that something is a ‘no-brainer’, but utilising pensions planning wherever possible is one.  Tax and Succession Planning expert Brona MacDougall advises. Income tax savings The saving that most people obtain from contributing to a pension is income tax relief. A basic rate taxpayer...

How to reduce your corporation tax bill

23rd March 2021
Your company’s financial year ends soon. Despite the difficult trading conditions over the last year the accounts will show a profit. But what steps can you take to legitimately reduce the corporation tax bill? Joanne Gibson advises. Generally, expenses that your company incurs are tax deductible. However, special rules mean that tax relief for some...

COVID-19 – Practical steps to help every business

20th March 2020
Few businesses could ever have imagined, let alone made plans for, the potential impact of a massive epidemic such as the current coronavirus crisis. As accountants, we want to provide you with some practical steps that you can take. Keep in touch Keep in touch with your accountant. The sooner that they are made aware...

Another change to workplace pensions

19th February 2019
Pensions auto-enrolment has been phased in slowly and as you’ll know every employer must ensure that their eligible staff join a workplace pension unless they opt out. But there’s one last important change before the task is complete, Joanne Gibson finds out. Since early 2018 every employer has had to include eligible staff in a...

Pension tax break?

22nd October 2018
After deferring your state pension for a few years you have decided that it’s now time to take it. You have the option of a higher pension or a lump sum. The latter offers the chance of some tax planning but what’s involved? Kevin Ferguson advises. Deferred state pension As you may know, the government...

PENSION RELIEF FOR SCOTTISH TAXPAYERS?

2nd May 2018
The new Scottish tax rates left taxpayers pretty confused over how they would work with tax relief for pension contributions. What are HMRC saying about this? Kevin Crowford takes a closer look. When the new Scottish five-tier tax rates were announced there was no mention of how this would fit in with the UK three-tier...

INHERITANCE TAX ON PENSION SAVINGS

2nd February 2018
From being unattractive and restrictive in many ways, pensions have now become a great deal more appealing. Back in 2014 the then Chancellor George Osborne gave savers full access to their pension pots abolishing the requirement an annuity. As well as this, there is also the potential to use pensions as a way to mitigate...

PENSION FREEDOM

1st June 2017
The 2015 Budget heralded the most radical changes to private pensions in a generation. But the tax treatment of lump-sum withdrawals means that many people are paying too much under bizarre pension tax rules. Steven Turnbull investigates. This relatively new found freedom and choice in pensions means that you no longer have to purchase an...