Personal Tax Planning

There has been a long-standing practice, which has been in existence for over 40 years, that has granted furnished holiday homes beneficial tax treatment compared to other residential property landlords.

HMRC will send Simple Assessment tax statements to pensioners in the next few weeks.

With the new Labour government promise to hit the ground running in the first 100 days of power, no time was wasted announcing their first tax changes.

Divorce can be one of the most difficult life events that an individual can face. With an estimated UK divorce rate of 42%, it is an area that we see increasingly often. The tax rules in connection with dividing up chargeable assets can be complex and must be considered prior to any financial order being agreed to protect against an unexpected tax burden.

The Spring Budget included an announcement that the threshold for the High Income Child Benefit Charge will increase to £60,000 from 6 April 2024.

In his 2024 Spring budget, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the government would ‘abolish the current tax system for Non-Doms, get rid of the outdated concept of domicile and the remittance basis in the tax system’. But what is the ‘Non-Dom’ tax regime, and how could this affect you (even if you are not considered a Non-Dom)?

I’ll start by putting a myth to bed – the term ‘non-dom’ remains because the concept originates from a taxpayers (and their parents) place of birth. Whilst a Chancellor has many powers he can’t change the origin of somebody’s birth!

This was a nasty surprise in the Budget announcement – the removal of MDR. The announcement concluded it didn’t benefit the intended taxpayer and has been subject to frequent abusive claims.

Changes to capital allowances rules have for many years been a prominent feature of the annual announcements from the Chancellor, generating endless rate changes and transitional measures. These yoyoing rules and thresholds have made it particularly difficult for businesses to plan tax efficiently for capital expenditure.

Those expecting a buccaneering pre-election Budget from Jeremy Hunt will be feeling rather let down: this was a modest affair, full of measures which had been pre-briefed, and without even the traditional rabbit pulled out of the hat to please his own backbenchers.

Shaun Davison reacts to the Chancellors announcement on a reduction in Capital Gains Tax on Non-Principal Residences.

The 2023 Spring Budget introduced a number of key changes to pension legislation, and in particular changes to the Lifetime Allowance.

Chartered accountants Lovewell Blake have appointed Ed Passmore as a partner.

Recently, some taxpayers have been receiving letters from HMRC suggesting they have received overseas income or gains that they ‘may’ need to pay UK tax on.

Jeremy Hunt said that everyone would feel the pain in his Economic Statement; that is certainly true of businesses, and SMEs in particular. Given that they are the real engine of growth in the UK economy, he may find that attacking them on every front will not prove popular in the business community.

Individual taxpayers, both employees and investors, are facing bigger bills following the Autumn Statement.

After a series of announcements and reversals, the dust has settled on tax rates on dividends and bonuses.Even so, the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, included some additional elements in his Autumn Statement as part of a renewed focus on raising tax.

HMRC has reminded taxpayers that they are now less than 100 days until the deadline for self assessment online return submission.

HMRC will raise interest rates on tax debt from 11 October following the 0.5% increase in the base rate.

The Government has recently published draft legislation that will allow divorcing couples more time to arrange their tax affairs.

The level at which people start paying national insurance rose from £9,880 to £12,570 from 6 July.

The government confirmed on 23 September that, following concerted feedback from a range of stakeholders, the planned introduction of MTD for income tax in April 2023 will be delayed until April 2024.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has updated their guidance on the new regime for penalties and interest for late payment of tax. This is the next step in an ongoing process of unifying the rules across all the taxes.

Many of us could be caught out by Inheritance Tax (IHT). Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be mega-rich to owe HMRC a chunk of money when you die. I think most of us would prefer as much as possible to go to our loved ones, rather than HMRC.

When the cross-party Treasury Committee made a series of recommendations to Government in March 2021, there were specific suggestions, some of which were introduced in the spring Budget, but also a more general plea for a clear tax strategy.

Capital gains tax (CGT) affects lots of key, often pressured, circumstances for individuals – selling your home, getting divorced, running or investing in a business, or developing a small piece of land. Despite this, many people don’t realise how the tax works, or how to report and calculate any tax that’s due.