Accountants Mitcham Archives - Southside Accountants Wimbledon

Travel and Subsistence Expenses

Jan28

There are two ways to deal with Travel and Subsistence expenses for business travel:

An employer pays their employee for the Travel and Subsistence expense incurred, tax-free
The employee claims reimbursement via their tax return for any tax relief due

Claiming expenses for a business journey On a normal working day, mileage from home to office cannot be claimed. An example of a business journey is if an employee travels from home to see a client, in this case 40 miles away. Even if they travel near to their office location, the full distance of 40 miles can be claimed…. Continue Reading

Laziness at work

Dec22

The British. While we may be known for having a stiff upper lip, or for being slightly eccentric, it seems we’re also getting a name for ourselves as a lazy nation – and this could be affecting business significantly.

Laziness in our personal life – from driving when we could walk or cycle, to putting off shopping around for cheaper insurance or ‘not being bothered’ to take unwanted clothes back for a refund is estimated to cost the average Brit £17,000 over the course of their lifetime. Moreover, at seems that we are liable to continue being lazy when we are at work…. Continue Reading

HMRC Scraps Renewals Allowance for Residential Lettings

Oct20

HMRC has withdrawn the Renewals Allowance which allowed landlords of fully furnished residential properties to claim tax relief when replacing some fixtures and fittings within a rental property. These included assets such as baths, sinks, fridges and freezers.

Previously there were two ways for landlords of fully furnished properties to claim tax relief on their assets:

Renewals Allowance

Although the initial cost of an asset was not eligible for this allowance, a sum for the replacement of items such as cookers, televisions and beds could be claimed. The Renewals Allowance worked by deducting the proceeds of sale from the original asset, along with the cost of any improvements to the new one…. Continue Reading

Directors Loan Accounts

Oct5

Directors loan accounts in small companies is one of the key areas which the taxman likes to investigate.

It is also an area that most clients do not clearly understand. I hope the this blog post will help in ensuring that directors keep taxman at bay and the company pays the minimum amount of tax within the law.

How does the Director’s Loan Account work?

If a director pays money into the company, it is accounted for in the Director’s Loan Account which is then deemed to be in credit. Withdrawals can also be made, and if the account remains in credit, there are no tax implications.

It is when the account goes overdrawn that potential tax issues arise as the overdraft is seen as an interest-free loan…. Continue Reading

Why You Should File Your Tax Return Early

Sep7

Here at Southside Accountants in Wimbledon SW19, we like to think of ourselves as proactive business partners to all our clients. That is why we are sharing some ideas and tips to save you money.

This particular one will also leave you feeling organised and just a little smug:

File your tax return early – do not wait until the end of January.… Continue Reading

Accountants in Wimbledon – Branded Bicycle?

Aug26

Would a branded bicycle tarnish the image of Southside Accountants? Is this a totally wacky idea? You do not see our competitors in Wimbledon doing this.

It is because other accountants in Wimbledon would not even dream of doing this; we are exploring the idea. Of course, it needs to be done in a tasteful manner in keeping with Wimbledon’s image and our reputation as one of the key players amongst many accountants in Wimbledon.

The picture below is just a germ of an idea. It needs a lot of refining to bring it up to our standards…. Continue Reading

Accountants in Wimbledon Video – Work in progress!

Aug22

Our video that is to go on the home page of our website is work in progress. It is the first time we have commissioned a video that is purely graphics based rather than relying on someone with that X factor saying hey become our client. That was the old Southside!

Our new video will be far better. It fits with our brand and the message we want to convey in under 2 minutes. This is not easy.

Thankfully we have the help and support of two local businesses – Indelibe Creative and Twobyte. Toby Trembath of Twobyte is our web designer. He has done an excellent job on the website based on the design provided by Indelibe Creative.

This is the first time I have been involved on a project like this. It is costly; I had no idea! Having said that I have no doubt we will get an excellent Return on Investment…. Continue Reading

VAT on Sale of Commercial Buildings

Mar24

When purchasing or selling a commercial property one of the first things to establish is whether VAT will be applied to the price of the property. Land and buildings are generally exempt from VAT, but ‘new‘ commercial property (i.e. less than three years old) will have VAT applied. Otherwise VAT should only be charged on the sale of a commercial property where the seller has previously elected to apply VAT to the property. This election is known as the ‘option to tax‘. There are circumstances where the option to tax may be disapplied by the seller, such as where the purchaser is going to use the building solely for charitable purposes or the building will be converted into residential use. If there is any question that VAT should not be applied to the sale, the seller must ask the purchaser for written confirmation of the intended use of the building. When the purchaser plans to convert the building to residential use it must provide the seller with a VAT certificate (form VAT1614D) to confirm their intentions for the building. In other circumstances a written instruction from the purchaser should be sufficient. Where VAT is applied to the price of the building, the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) charge will inevitably be higher, as SDLT is charged on the gross consideration paid, including the VAT charged. If you are planning to purchase a commercial property, or sell one, ask us to check the VAT implications before the price is agreed.

Disclaimer

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Southside Accountants Wimbledon & London.

Child Benefit if Your Child is 16 or Over

Mar19

If you have a child aged 16, check whether you are still receiving all the child benefit and child tax credits you expect to.

Child benefit and child tax credit both stop automatically on 31st August on or after the child’s 16th birthday, but where the child is in approved education or training, the parent who claims the child benefit is entitled to extend that claim until the child reaches their 20th birthday. ‘Approved education’ means at least 12 hours of supervised study per week, and the training can include an apprenticeship.

From September 2013 children who live in England (the rules are different in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland) are required by law to remain in education or training until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17. So there are a lot of families out there with 16 years olds who are in approved education, but who have lost their child benefit.

If you are one of those parents, and you want to continue to receive the child benefit, you need to contact the Child Benefit office at HMRC, to inform them that your child is still in approved education or training.

Similar rules apply for child tax credit. In that case the claimant must contact the Tax Credit office.

Although child benefit and child tax credit are both administered by HMRC, you need to inform them twice, as one section of HMRC cannot pass the relevant information to another part!

You may prefer not to receive the child benefit if you or your partner/spouse earns £50,000 or more, because in that case all or part of the child benefit paid to your family is clawed-back through the operation of the high income child benefit charge (HICBC). HMRC has written to some of the parents who may be due to pay the HICBC, but not all, as they cannot correctly identify every person who may be liable to pay the charge.

If you are the highest earner in a family that has claimed child benefit since 7 January 2013, and your total income is £50,000 or more, you need to declare that child benefit on your tax return form. If you don’t normally complete a self-assessment tax return form, you need to ask HMRC to set you up on the self-assessment tax return system. We can help you with that, but don’t delay, as if you fail to complete the tax return form on time there will be automatic penalties to pay.

Disclaimer

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Southside Accountants Wimbledon & London.

Contractor Loan Schemes

Mar17

Have you taken part in a contractor loan scheme? This is a tax saving scheme which was widely sold to workers in personal service industries, such as IT contractors. To use the scheme the individual would sign an employment contract with an offshore employer, but work for customers in the UK. The individual would often receive a large proportion of their fee for that work as a loan from the offshore employer. They were told the loan was not taxable, except for a small benefit in kind charge on the unpaid interest on the loan, but that’s not what the Taxman thinks. The Taxman has publicly announced that he is opening tax enquires into individuals’ tax returns for periods during which they have used such loan schemes. In some cases the individual will receive a tax bill for the years 2008/09 to 2010/11, to collect the tax they think was avoided. There will be penalties and interest to pay on any tax found to be avoided.

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Southside Accountants Wimbledon & London.

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