James owns a residential property which has been let for many years and he is considering selling it but will lose a large amount of the proceeds to HMRC. What are the options for reducing his capital gains tax (CGT) bill? Head of Tax Christiaan Hansen highlights some of the options available. Capital gains James...

Here is an official letter that HMRC have just sent out to their customers relating to new penalties for submitting VAT returns or paying VAT late. Apologies if you are already aware of this but it is a useful reminder if you have not yet picked up on the new regime. Particularly important if you...

Well done to Kenny Logan from our Edinburgh office who last Friday was awarded Member of the Year of the BNI Britannia group at the Charity Awards Dinner of the BNI Scotland South, East & Central region. Kenny was over the moon to receive the award: “This was voted by my fellow members so the...

We are delighted to welcome highly experienced tax expert Christiaan Hansen to the JRW team. Christian is our new Head of Tax, replacing Brona MacDougall who has gone onto pastures new a little closer to home. Although based in Hawick, Christiaan will bring his considerable tax expertise to clients across all 6 JRW offices as...

Mrs Smith’s mother has recently died. During her final years she lived in a care home and sold her property to pay the fees. Mrs Smith believes she has lost the right to claim the residence nil rate band as a result. What is advised? Head of Tax, Christiaan Hansen advises. Residence nil rate band...

You are sending an employee overseas for several months to complete a job. They have asked what the tax and NI position will be if they pay for family visits during this period. Head of Tax Christiaan Hansen looks at this in more detail. Commuting You are probably aware that if you pay an employee’s...

You keep various animals for a new fresh produce business. But you may be unaware that there are options as to how the animals are treated for tax purposes.   Elaine Wight from our Accounts Deptartment in Hawick looks at the options. Animals By default, farm animals are treated as trading stock. However, some animals are...

It has been suggested that we only auto-enrol new employees who are eligible into our workplace auto-enrolment pension scheme once they’ve successfully completed their probation period. Is this acceptable? Natasha Crockatt from our payroll department discusses below. If you require your employees to successfully complete a probationary period before they start working for you on...

You have employees who make local deliveries using bikes rather than cars where feasible. Can you still make payments for the business mileage tax free? Naomi Swan CA, based in our Hawick office, discusses below. The tax position will depend on whether the couriers are employees or self-employed. Of course, with HMRC’s increased enforcement action...

P60s are important documents used to summarise an employee’s tax information at the end of the tax year. But what is the deadline for issuing P60s and who needs to receive one?  Natasha Crockatt, from our Payroll department advises. A P60 is an important document that provides a formal statement of an employee’s pay, tax, NI and...