Welcome 

This is a Practical Tax Database your online tax partner. It answers your key tax FAQs and is packed with useful and practical tax and business know-how, tools, examples and checklists...Read Reviews

Register for our FREE news update service, or Subscribe to UNLOCK all the content. Our Terms & Conditions  apply.

Check out our sister site: Virtual Tax Partner® support service for advisers and their clients.

 

www.rossmartin.co.uk
Your online Virtual Tax Partner: practical support for accountants, tax advisers and their clients


New Guides and Updates

FREEview

New guidance: dealing with clients & HMRC
The main tax bodies have issued updated guidance: this might be aimed at their members but it contains some valuable advice for one and all.

Minimum wage: travel schemes changes
New rules from 1 January exclude travel expenses from NMW.

CIS penalty refund offer: act now
We have republished this item; please note that this is open to anyone who has suffered CIS late filing penalties.

VAT: the 20% rate
Links to summaries and new VAT notices.

Disguised remuneration: anti-avoidance
Leading firms of advisers warn that proposed legislation is too complex and broadly drafted for employers to understand.

Advisers' update: Dec 2010
A topcial summary including key measures proposed for the 2011 Finance Bill.

For PAID subscribers (because you are so special :)

Materiality and tax penalties
NEW: a tricky topic.

NIC holiday for new employers
A new note: guidance on what is a new business.

iXBRL: a guide for advisers
NEW: we have been reviewing software, what are you using?

Finance Act 2011: tax planner
CPD powerbooster: our rolling planner summarises what is new in tax and what is expected in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and it links to our detailed guidance on each topic.

Joint property elections
Including a note on transfer of legal title and beneficial ownership.

CGT: Private Residence Relief
A quick guide that also features FAQs on buy-to-let and developers.

Tax penalties: failure to make a return (late filing)
UPDATED: what applies and when - links to old and new penalties for SA, CT and CIS.

Tax penalties: self-assessment late filing
NEW: a quick guide to the penalties that apply for 2009/10 returns.

Entertaining: the double tax trap
NEW: a quick guide for directors

Entertaining: employee expenses
NEW: a quick guide for employers

Gifts & trivial benefits
UPDATED: all change we have some new trivial benefits and of course changes in the VAT rules.

CIS: penalties
UPDATED: this is an invaluable guide to the old rules v. new rules, transitional arrangements, workings and much more.

National Insurance rates
A new addition to our Tax data section

Staff parties and annual functions
Planning the Christmas party? Read on.

2011/12 tax rates and allowances
New rates and allowances published

Companies House of Horrors
Online filing with Companies House is not always safe or secure; plan ahead.

Practical Tax Toolkits (part freeview)

Our Practical Tax Toolkits include tax planning tips and advice, essential reading for advisers:

Toolkits for the self-employed
This includes our Tax Healthcheck

Toolkits for companies
From compliance to associated companies to profit extraction.

Samples (freeview)

Property profits & losses: toolkit
NEW: this is our re-write of HMRC's toolkit, unsurprisingly we go into rather more detail on what you can claim!

Directors' loan accounts: toolkit
UPDATED: our popular version of HMRC's toolkit with a new section on NICs, for advisers.


Some more of our favourites

Interest Relief: Loan to Buy an Interest in a Close Company
NEW: part of our directors' series. Pay close attention to a company's activities in these changeable times.

What are earnings for NICs purposes?
NEW: part of our employers' series. Essential know-how for anyone wondering how they can avoid NICs.


Close Companies: Transactions in securities
A summary of the changes and guidance with particular emphasis on ESC C16.

Tax on leaving payments
At a glance guide to this difficult topic...More

Company cars
UPDATED for tax cases on shared ownership & provision of car to a spouse, new section on car schemes and NICs refunds on motoring allowances.

Property profits and losses
What expenses to claim, capital allowances and links to our new practical tax toolkit...More

Is it a trade or a business?
Practical back to basics for advisers, great for tea time reading...More

Pool cars
A quick guide for employers. There is no taxable benefit to an employee when a company car qualifies as a pool car.

Can I back-claim capital allowances on residential property?
An explanation of the ins and outs of our complicated capital allowances regime...More

Surplus cash CGT & IHT Relief and ESC C16
A company has large cash surplus: how does this affect Entrepreneurs' Relief, Business Property Relief, and what about Transactions in Securities?...More

Unlawful, illegal or ultra vires dividends
A look at the tax treatment for directors and shareholders...More

Goodwill and the intangibles regime
An explanation of rules for connected party trades straddling 1 April 2002. Can you apportion goodwill?

Pensions: tax planning guides
New rules from 2011 restrict tax relief on inputs.

An adviser's guide to Settlements
Tax anti-avoidance rules: crammed full of examples, planning points and pitfalls, together with a summary of the leading tax cases.

Adviser's Tax Penalty Planner
New late filing penalties for CIS, SA and CT are all due to start this time next year. Have you discussed them with your clients and changed your letters of engagement?

 

Share based incentives (part freeview)

EMI: checklist
This does what it says on the wrapper.

Designing an EMI share option scheme
Need some help? Please ask for details.

Share scheme basics for small companies FREEVIEW
While company values are low a share scheme can be a very tax efficient method of rewarding staff. We explain the basics of an unapproved share scheme.

Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) FREEVIEW
A share option scheme is ideal for smaller companies.


 

Buying and selling businesses

Capital Gains Tax: Entrepreneurs' Relief
UPDATED: for Finance (No 2) Act, a succinct guide for OMB advisers with planning points, pitfalls, worked examples.

Capital gains reliefs: disposal of business assets
What relief to use where and how to incorporate a business.

Selling the business: deferred consideration and earn outs
An overview of the different tax consequences for the seller.

Loan stock: QCBs or non-QCBs? FREEVIEW
All change: a quick guide for advisers.

Selling the business: where do I start?
A guide for you to discuss with your clients.

How to value a business
An adviser's guide that explores the different methods used for valuing private companies with worked examples.

Purchase of own shares – out of capital
Our unique guide explains the fiddly bits.

Tax planning for 2010/11
This is a rolling update for advisers

The Advisers' Guide to the PAYE Fiasco

Our one-off special contains:

  • A Summary of guidance to give to clients who are affected by PAYE by under or over payments
  • PAYE deadlines
  • ESC A19
  • Overpayment relief
  • NIC deadlines
  • Links to LITRG

Virtual Tax Partner

Our Virtual Tax Partner service provides one-to-one practical support for accountants and advisers nationally. Need help with an enquiry, a valuation, a share scheme or buy-back? Want a second opinion, or assistance in drafting a difficult letter or computation? The Virtual Tax Partner peer review and mentoring service is discounted for subscribers. Give us a ring.

Like the site? Come and subscribe.

Recommendations: what do our subscribers say about us?

Free guides - take a tour...

You have two options:
1. Explore the site (then click on the menus and you will soon see what is free)
2. See a small sample.

Missed an edition? See Nichola's SME Tax News Archive.


Subscribe to the Practical Tax Database to UNLOCK your internet Virtual Tax partner:

What do you get?

  • Superb value for money and we are a UK company.
  • Open access to the entire Practical Tax Webservice which contains over 450 tax, business and legal guides packed full of essential know-how for advisers.
  • Our regular Email update when there are new guides and tax issues that we think you MUST read.
  • Up to 50% off the Virtual Tax Partner helpline.
  • Nichola’s monthly SME tax news summary (we do the reading and cherry pick the best of the press, magazines and websites for you).
  • NEW our Quarterly Tax Refresher (for advisers ONLY) + our Quarterly Employer Briefing.
  • A 25% discount to our NEW tax webinar-update service).
  • You can also commission guides and checklists for your own practice, post comments and upload your own articles.
  • You can access the Virtual Tax Partner service for FREE quick calls, or just a chat.
newsletter_header