Several of your employees have been affected by the recent NI rate increase. As their employer, they have asked if there is anything that you can do to increase their pay packages. Could salary sacrifice be an unexpected solution? Brona MacDougall provides the answer. The tax advantages of some salary sacrifice schemes for employees, for...

As of 6 April 2024 most self employed traders and private landlords will be required to comply with HMRC’s new MTD for ITSA rules. Who is required to comply? All individuals who are subject to income tax on the profits of a trade, profession, vocation or property business who have a total turnover from all...

The UK government has recently run a public consultation on a potential new Online Sales Tax. The consultation period ran from February 2022 to 20 May 2022. The results are currently under review. COVID has had a big impact on how we shop, work and generally interact, but even before COVID the retail sector in...

With climate change and the cost-of-living crisis high on everyone’s agenda, is this a good time to look at an electric company car policy? What benefits would such a scheme bring? Brona MacDougall advises. Company cars have fallen out of favour in recent years as tax charges have risen and the optional remuneration arrangement changes...

Within a family-run business it is naturally very common to employ family members. Whilst this does allow for more tax-deductible money to stay within the family, there are issues and potential minefields that you should be aware of. Helen Johnstone advises. When it comes to employing family members and putting their wages through the books...

If you are carrying out repairs to a dilapidated property, this may be treated as capital expenditure rather than revenue expenditure. Brona MacDougall explains the position regarding tax relief. Buying a property and doing it up for letting out can make good financial sense, however, repairs and renovations are expensive, so it is important to...

Lots of employees don’t understand how their tax code is made up and they are likely to come to you when they have a question or a problem. What do you need to know to help them? Head of Payroll Joanne Gibson advises. When do codes change? There are several fixed occasions annually when tax...

Your accounting period is due to end soon and your fellow directors want to pay a bonus so the company can reduce its corporation tax bill. However, they don’t want to pay tax on it until the following year. Is this possible? Brona MacDougall advises on the timing and rules that you should be aware...

Can a director take a company vehicle out of the business to sell? Q. A company director bought a car through his business on finance, it has been a company vehicle for a few years. The finance is now paid off, and he would like to sell it, but as the business is VAT registered,...

It is your intention to start buying and renovating residential properties, before selling them and reinvesting the proceeds. But should you operate this through a limited company? And what key issues should you be addressing from the outset?  Helen Johnstone discusses in more detail below. The first thing to do is to consider whether you...