An employee who is being made redundant has asked his employer to write off their outstanding training costs loan as part of their redundancy termination package. But what are the tax implications here?  Tax Expert Brona MacDougall explains. Where a loan to an employee is written off by the employer for any reason, HMRC treats...

The First-tier Tribunal recently ruled on whether profit made from the sale of land bought as part of a residential property was taxable as trading income or capital gains. What was the outcome and why?  Brona MacDougall looks at this in more detail. The dispute The case of Heather Whyte v HMRC followed a long...

The government has introduced an NI exemption to encourage employers to take on former military personnel. If this is something you’d like to support, what are the key considerations? Head of Payroll Joanne Gibson advises. Overview The government made a commitment at the last election to better support veterans in their transition to civilian employment....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...