A real "quickie" from me this week, we have a new PAYE update. We keep finding interesting news on that front and there are also quite a few new issues for us advisers and our clients ahead of 2011/12.

Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

Best wishes

Nichola

Nichola Ross Martin FCA
Tax Director

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


News and FREEview

PAYE Update Feb 2011
Practical tips and links ahead of the new tax year.

Lunn & Co: HMRC wrong to withdraw agent status
The next chapter in the story of HMRC's investigation into a firm of accountants

Adviser Update: Feb 2011
This is a new feature; a rolling update, topped up throughout the month.

Capital gains: connected persons
A simple aide-memoire for when you need to know.

Illegal working: employer checks
A handy link if you are taking on new staff.

Cycles: valuation
As P11D time approaches this is how you value employer provided cycles.

Guides and updates

For PAID subscribers (because you are so special :)

Top tips on tax? Don't miss out, one tax guide a day keeps the taxman at bay.

Keeping up to date:

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.

PAYE & Settlement Agreements - (how to gross up for)
Do you pay an employee's personal bill, or you provide the benefit and pay the tax on that instead?

"Back to basics": what expenses can I claim for?

Medical & dental costs (self-employed)
NEW: with analysis comparing and constrasting case decisions from stuntmen to guitar players.

Training and course fees (self-employed)
UPDATED: new case law. Is Scientology counselling deductible? With a new table to help clarify what is what.

Recently added and updated:

PAYE & NICs review
NEW toolkit/selling opportunity: perform a PAYE and NICs review on your clients before HMRC do.

What are earnings for NICs purposes?
UPDATE: when remuneration planning goes wrong and we have NICs on dividends and loan write offs.

ESC C16: marketing opportunities
NEW: if the concession is going to be removed this might be the time to modify your business model.

Residency: working full time abroad
NEW: a summary with links to the leading cases including the outcome of Grace v HMRC (another pilot fails in his bid to become non-resident).

Residency: coming to the UK
UPDATED: new and improved links and checklist.

Entrepreneurs' Relief
UPDATED: rearranged to make qualifying conditions clearer.

Accounts health check (self-employed)
UPDATED: a general re-write with more interactive links.

Know your client & money laundering checks
UPDATED: this now comes with new "prompts". Essential reading.

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
UPDATE: recent decisions: EIS not denied on an MBO, clarification on values for shares/loan stock.

What is a small company?
NEW: a handy little aid memoire, should you ever be worrying about tax rates, transfer pricing or are just curious.

NIC repayments on motoring allowances
UPDATED: HMRC to appeal case on NICs refunds on motoring allowances.

Recent updates

Surplus cash, CGT & IHT relief & ESC 16
REWRITE: a new and improved version

Close investment holding companies
UPDATED: more examples and a recent tax case.

ESC C16: tax & striking off a company
UPDATED: more examples, explanation of proposed changes.

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

Travel (self-employed)
NEW: a complete re-write, essential reading if you advise the self-employed.

Working from home (self-employed)
UPDATED: we have partially rewritten our classic tax guide to clarify some aspects of measurement of useage.

Company cars
UPDATED: new tax Tribunal cases on shared ownership and new section on car schemes.

Selling the business: deferred consideration and earn outs
UPDATED: the 2010 changes to Entrepeneurs' Relief moved the goalposts. This is a handy quick guide and overview of the different tax consequences for the seller.

Can I charge my company rent for use of my home?
UPDATED: yes you can, but read this first.

CGT: Main Private Residence Relief
UPDATED: this is so topical that we have added a "quality of occupation" checklist.

Furnished Holiday Letting
UPDATED: new loss rules from 2011/12 and new measures from 2012/13


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More Guides and Updates

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?

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

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

DOTAS: are you an introducer?
NEW..and why does it matter?

Tax penalties: DOTAS
These penalties are separate from the new tax penalty and compliance regime.

Employer-Financed Retirement Benefits Scheme (EFRBS)
UPDATED: for Finance Bill 2011 proposals.

Entertaining: the double tax trap
A quick guide for directors

Entertaining: employee expenses
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.

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

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
Part of our directors' series. Pay close attention to a company's activities in these changeable times.

What are earnings for NICs purposes?
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

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

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

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.

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.

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