A couple have received conflicting advice about reducing their potential inheritance tax (IHT) liability by making gifts. One view is that they need to survive at least three years from when a gift is made to save IHT. The other advice says they must survive seven. Which view is correct?  Kenny Logan from our Edinburgh...

You have decided to sell a property that until two years ago was let as holiday accommodation. Since then, you and your family and friends have used it for the occasional weekend. Does the special lower rate of capital gains tax still apply to the gain you make? As you’re probably aware, higher rates of...

If you’re driving an old petrol company car, you and your company could be paying a lot in tax and NI charges. You could purchase a new electric or low emissions car, but is there a cheaper way to cut your tax bill? Tax breaks for electric cars Whilst sales of electrically powered cars hit...

You are planning to join a local business association to help with networking and promotion. This includes access to a monthly dinner with a guest speaker. Does the business entertainment aspect affect the tax deductibility?  Kenny Logan from our Edinburgh office discusses. Quite often, business organisation meetings are also social occasions where food and drinks...

Following huge rises in petrol and diesel prices, you may be wondering if now is the time to make the switch to electric company cars, as you understand there are tax benefits in doing so. But what tax breaks are available?  Charley Fojcik discusses. Where an employee has a company car which is available for...

Following on from last weeks blog, the pressure of public opinion, the IMF, the financial markets, and other Conservative MP’s has led to Kwasi Kwarteng doing a sharp U-turn in respect of the abolition of the 45% additional rate of tax. Although the remaining budget still favours the wealthy more than the average taxpayer, the...

You have just completed your first year of a property rental business during which you spent a lot of money getting the properties ready for letting. You spent money on redecoration, repairs, structural work, fixtures, fittings and furnishings. How much of this expenditure is tax deductible?  Sam Scott from the Tax Team advises in this...

You want to buy a holiday home, but you have a limited budget. As a low-cost option, you are considering buying a static home on a holiday park which will generate income to offset the cost. Another advantage is that you’ll get tax relief on the purchase price. Is this true?  Mark Towns from our...

I was going to start this article with a joke about the ‘trickle-down’ economy, but 99% of people wouldn’t get it…… Trickle down economics was known in the latter part of the nineteenth century as ‘horse and sparrow economics’. The theory being that if you fed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to...

The rules for sharing income from your company with your spouse or civil partner are well known. But, if you’re not legally joined, is there a tax-efficient way to share your income?  Helen Johnstone looks at this in more detail below. A few years ago, HMRC lost a long running fight to prevent married couples/civil...