July 2021

News Posted

Cycling to work – keep it simple!

27th July 2021
A few of your employees have expressed an interest in the cycle-to-work tax break and you’re also tempted to join them. However, there seems to be a mountain of information to plough through. Is there a simple option?  Sam Scott discusses. Cycle-to-work basics The legislation for the cycle-to-work tax break is unusually straightforward. It allows...

Credit note or bad debt?

27th July 2021
A regular customer owes you a lot of money and has offered to pay half now if you agree to accept it as full payment for all outstanding invoices. But how do you deal with the bad debt? Our VAT expert John Craig explains in greater detail. The VAT rules are different according to whether...
Tax deductions for giving away goods

Tax deductions for your buy-to-let property

26th July 2021
In between tenants you are doing some work on your rental property. How these are categorised, as repairs or improvements, determines whether or not you’re entitled to an income tax deduction. What factors should you consider? Improvement or just repair? As a rule, a “revenue” tax deduction can’t be claimed for the cost of improving...

MTD for individuals

26th July 2021
HMRC wants individuals who are self-employed or have a property rental business to trial its Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service before it becomes mandatory. HMRC has changed the login process for its digital services for all business users; it now requires two-step verification. Lauren Herbert discusses in greater detail below. MTD for income...

How to cut your corporation tax?

23rd July 2021
Despite a difficult year, it looks like the accounts will show a profit after all. What could you look at to legitimately reduce the corporation tax bill the company has to pay? Kenny Logan advises. Generally, expenses that the company incurs are tax deductible. However, special rules mean that tax relief for some expenses might...

Self Employed Income Support Scheme – Fifth Grant

22nd July 2021
As the Self Employed Income Support Scheme winds down for, what we can only hope is the final time, there are some additional complexities to consider in the claims process. There are two levels of grant award available on this occasion, calculated as either 80% or 30% of pre-pandemic income.  The level of grant available...

Does your Guest House qualify for letting relief?

8th July 2021
Since April 2020 there have been restrictions on when letting relief on the disposal of residential property can be claimed. You are selling your Guest House and would like advice about potential letting relief. Brona MacDougall advises. Letting relief changes Letting relief can reduce a chargeable gain by up to £40,000 for someone letting accommodation...

The benefits of company mobile phones?

7th July 2021
David has just taken out a contract on the latest mobile phone. As he uses it mainly for work, he wants to put the cost through his company. But what are the tax consequences for him and the business? Wendy Brown finds out. David was so keen to get his hands on the latest mobile...

Out of pocket business expenses and tax

6th July 2021
Susan has been meeting some business expenses out of her own pocket. But can your company pay you interest for using your own money and is there any tax advantage to doing so? Naomi Swan takes a look. Susan is the sole director and shareholder of a small company. She frequently travels for work and...

July Q&A

2nd July 2021
REVERSE CHARGE FOR BUILDERS Q. I am a builder, and my cash flow has been badly hit by the new reverse charge rules. This is largely because I am no longer being paid VAT by my builder clients to use as working capital until my quarterly VAT return is due. Is it possible to issue...