Dean Statham

Newsletter May 2009

A few surprises in Mr Darling's Budget announcements last week. We have expanded on two issues in this newsletter; the changes to the Furnished Holiday Lets rules and the inclusion of business tax losses in tax payment arrangement agreed with the Business Payment Support Service.

We have also included an article that examines the tax position of unmarried couples and changes to the interest charges made by HMRC on tax paid late.

The next newsletter will be published 4 June 2009.

Furnished Holiday Let (FHL) property

The EU seem to have caused a bit of an earthquake! As a direct result of EU rulings the UK have been compelled to extend the various tax advantages of FHL status to properties located within the European Economic Area (EEA) - as long as they meet the required qualifying criteria.

It would appear that this did not sit well with the UK Treasury as they have announced that the entire FHL tax legislation is to be repealed, withdrawn, from 6 April 2010.

What difference will this make?

Obviously if you presently rent out accommodation as a qualifying holiday let in the UK it will make a big difference. From the 6 April 2010 FHL property income will revert to being taxed as non-FHL property income. In a nut shell the downside tax effects after 5 April 2010 are:

• you can no longer set off FHL losses against other income
• you can no longer claim capital allowances for the purchases of furniture and equipment, and
• you will lose significant capital gains tax reliefs including roll-over and entrepreneurs' relief if you dispose of FHL properties after 5 April 2010.

What are the opportunities?

As always change has upside effects. We have listed two below:

• if you own a let property in the EEA, that would have qualified as a FHL property under the present rules, it may be possible to back date changes to your tax returns for 2007 and 2008. This would include set off of surplus FHL losses against other income.
• if you have sold a property in the EEA that would have qualified for more favourable capital gains tax treatment, computations can be revised for the years ending 5 April 2007 and 5 April 2008.

What's next?

If you feel that you may be affected by these changes we should meet and discuss as soon as possible. The most immediate deadline is to apply for a late change to your 2007 self assessment tax return if it needs to be changed; this has to be done by 31 July 2009. (If you have operated your FHL trade through a company, amendments to tax computations for accounting periods ending on or after 31 December 2006 have to be submitted by the same date, 31 July 2009.)

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Business Payment Support Service

This service continues to offer tax payers deferred terms for settlement of their tax liabilities. Nationally the feedback from businesses and individuals who have made applications has been promising - HMRC have been sympathetic and supportive in most cases.

However there is a circumstance where the Support Service staff have been unable to assist and that is when businesses are making losses in the current tax year.

Under recent concessions from HMRC it is now possible to carry back some tax losses for 3 years. Of course it is not possible to quantify the tax effects of these losses until accounts are finally submitted with the relevant claims.

The Budget announcement last week now includes powers that will allow the Business Payment Support Service to take these losses into account when negotiating deferred payment arrangements.

We recommend that you call us if you need to quantify the effects of possible loss relief in the current year, and carry backs to previous years.

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Tax position of unmarried couples

UK tax legislation relating to capital gains tax (CGT) and inheritance tax (IHT) is biased in favour of marriage or Civil Partnership. The recent Budget has done nothing to change this.

If you are committed to a long term life partnership with another individual, and you are not married or in Civil Partnership, the opportunities to mitigate CGT and or IHT are limited. This article discusses these limited options.

• Assets owned when relationship started. Generally speaking it has been difficult to transfer assets between partners that were owned prior to the commencement of their relationship. For IHT purposes the transfer would be treated as a Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET) - any potential liability would only disappear after a seven year period. The IHT risk could be insured against by taking out a seven year life policy, but of course you would have to pay the premiums!

If assets are transferred between partners, and the asset in question is subject to CGT on disposal, any such transfer will create a CGT liability. The only exception is if the market value of the assets at the date of the gift or transfer is the same as, or lower than the original cost. With most share portfolios now in a loss position this may open up opportunities to equalise estates by gifting across securities. This may also crystallise CGT losses for the donor which he or she could put to good use.

Depending on the type of asset, transfers may trigger Stamp Duty Land Tax charges.

And finally, gains on gifts of certain business assets can be rolled over.

• Assets purchased after the relationship started.  Assets purchased together after the relationship has commenced opens up the possibility of equalising estates by owning such assets jointly.

If there are concerns about unequal financial contributions made by partners to purchase the asset, these can be reflected in the percentage share.

In certain circumstances it may also be effective to use a trust to accommodate certain aspects of the transaction.

• Insurance. If IHT planning is ignored a partner surviving a first death may be obliged to sell assets, if the couple's assets were significantly above their nil rate bands. (Currently £325,000)

This may involve the survivor selling the family home, or taking out a mortgage, to pay IHT.

This risk can be covered by a first death life policy written in trust for the benefit of the survivor.

Conclusion

Most unmarried couples are disadvantaged in the UK tax system. Ultimately the only way to redress this is for our Government to legislate and remove this bias, or for affected couples to actually get married or enter into a Civil Partnership. Obviously there are many important non-tax reasons why this may be an inappropriate course of action to take.

If you have tax planning concerns as a result of reading this article please call.

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HMRC - interest rate changes

Due to the recent reduction in bank rate from 1% to 0.5%, on 6 March 2009, HMRC have made the following changes to its interest rate charges and supplements.

Interest rates from 6 March 2009

• 1.5% on unpaid corporation tax paid by instalments
• 0.25% on overpaid corporation tax

From 24 March 2009

• 2.5% on unpaid income tax, capital gains tax, National Insurance contributions and stamp duties
• 0% on similar overpaid taxes
• 0% on inheritance tax payable or refundable
• 2.5% on corporation tax not due by instalments
• 0% on overpaid corporation tax not due by instalment
• 2.5% on unpaid VAT

Readers may be intrigued to notice that no interest is now payable on late paid inheritance tax.

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Tax Diary May/June 2009

1 May 2009 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 July 2008.

19 May 2009 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 May 2009. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 May 2009)

19 May 2009 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 May 2009.

19 May 2009 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 May 2009 is payable by today.

19 May 2009 - The payroll forms P35 and P14s must be filed by this date - employers late in filing these forms may receive a penalty.

31 May 2009 - Ensure all employees have been given their P60s.

1 June 2009 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 August 2008.

19 June 2009 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 June 2009. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 June 2009)

19 June 2009 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 June 2009.

19 June 2009 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 June 2009 is payable by today.

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DISCLAIMER - PLEASE NOTE: The ideas shared with you in this email are intended to inform rather than advise. Taxpayers circumstances do vary and if you feel that tax strategies we have outlined may be beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you do or do not take action as a result of reading this newsletter, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

Dean Statham,
29 King Street, Newcastle, Staffs, ST5 1ER.
Tel: 01782 614618  Fax: 01782 717287.
Web: www.dsonline.co.uk.

Dean Statham is a limited liability partnership, registered for VAT under reference 812 0016 96. Partners in the firm are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). This body has its headquarters in the UK and its rules of professional conduct can be obtained from its web site.

Dean Statham are authorised to act as statutory auditors by the ICAEW.

Newsletter April 2009

This year the traditional date for the Budget has been delayed for a month until 22 April. At the date of preparing this newsletter we are still "in the dark" regarding any changes Chancellor Darling will make to our tax position for 2009-10.

This month we have included information on PAYE code changes, changes to the National Minimum Wage penalty regime, the new penalties if you fail to register your liability to pay self employed National Insurance, and an update on medical check-ups provided by employers.

PAYE code number changes

If your local tax office sent you a demand to pay tax you would obviously take some interest in the issue - is this change correct? When do I have to pay it?

Would you feel the same if you received a notification of change to your PAYE code number?

Your tax code is set at the level at which you pay no tax. If your tax code is 600L, you can earn up to £6,000 a year (£500 per month) tax free. If towards the end of a tax year this reduces to say 400L, your annual tax free allowance will have dropped to £4,000. Depending on the degree of reduction and the timing of the adjustment, you may suffer an immediate and perhaps significant drop in your take home pay.

What to do?

Your tax code can be revised in a downwards direction for a number of reasons. Some of the more frequent causes are set out below:

•  State Pensions - your State Pension is paid to you with no deduction for tax. Unfortunately the pension is treated as income for tax purposes and if you are employed and in receipt of the pension, HMRC will seek to collect any tax due by reducing your tax code.
• Benefits in kind - if your employer provides any form of taxable benefit, company car, health insurance etc.
• Unpaid tax from previous tax years.

An interesting situation arises if the total reduction in a tax year exceeds your basic tax free allowance. For instance if at the beginning of a tax year your tax free allowance was set at £6,500, but your untaxed State Pension for the forthcoming year was £10,000, this would result in a negative code of -350. (£6,500 - £10,000). On your Notice of Coding this would be displayed as K350. A K code means that you have no allowances to set off against your salary before tax is calculated - in fact, in the example set out above, £3,500 will be added to your taxable earnings! An increase in a K code will increase your tax deductions and reduce your take home pay.

If you receive a notification that your tax code has changed do check it out, H M Revenue & Customs have been known to make mistakes!

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National Minimum Wage changes

We urge all employers to read the following changes to the penalties that will automatically be levied after 6 April 2009 if you fail to observe your obligations regarding payment of National Minimum Wage rates.

From 6 April 2009, a new automatic penalty will be levied where HMRC compliance officers find arrears of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

Penalties will range from £100 to £5,000 and those employers who settle within 14 days of notification will receive a 50 per cent discount of the penalty for prompt payment. The penalty must be paid in addition to any arrears owed to the workers. The most serious cases of non compliance may be tried in a Crown Court and subject to an unlimited fine.

To reflect this change, the current system of separate NMW enforcement and penalty notices will be replaced by a combined notice of underpayment and penalty. This will be issued whenever HMRC discover that arrears were outstanding at the start of their enquiries.

The notice will detail the amounts due to workers and any penalty due on those arrears. For PAYE reference periods starting on or after 6 April 2009 the penalty will be half the total underpayments shown on the notice. HMRC can pursue arrears claims for workers going back up to six years.

You will be able to appeal both the amount of the arrears and the penalty to an Employment Tribunal (an Industrial Tribunal in Northern Ireland) under new appeal rights. You can call the National Minimum Wage Help line in confidence on Tel 0845 6000 678.

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Self-employed NIC penalties

From 6 April 2009 there is a change in the penalty you will pay if you are late notifying HMRC that you have commenced self-employment.

Up to 6 April 2009 the penalty was £100 and you had 3 months after commencement of trade to let HMRC know.

From 6 April 2009 the rules are changed as follows:

• Anyone who ceases or becomes liable for Class 2 or Class 3 contributions must notify HMRC immediately.
• A penalty may be levied (between 30% and 100% of the "lost contributions") if notice is not given by 31 January following the end of the tax year in which you become liable.
• There will be no penalty if you have a reasonable excuse for the late notification.

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Medical check ups

HMRC have now agreed that all medical check-ups provided by employers to an individual employee will be treated as tax and NIC free, even if the check-ups are not available to all employees.

This clarifies a number of changes in their approach, and informal concessions, in the last few years. The change will be acknowledged in the forthcoming Finance Bill 2009.

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Tax Diary April/May 2009

1 April 2009 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 June 2008.

19 April 2009 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 April 2009. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 April 2009)

19 April 2009 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 April 2009.

19 April 2009 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 April 2009 is payable by today.

1 May 2009 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 July 2008.

19 May 2009 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 May 2009. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 May 2009)

19 May 2009 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 May 2009.

19 May 2009 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 May 2009 is payable by today.

19 May 2009 - The payroll forms P35 and P14s must be filed by this date - employers late in filing these forms may receive a penalty.

31 May 2009 - Ensure all employees have been given their P60s.

Click here for a call back from our office regarding this article.      Back to top  

DISCLAIMER - PLEASE NOTE: The ideas shared with you in this email are intended to inform rather than advise. Taxpayers circumstances do vary and if you feel that tax strategies we have outlined may be beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you do or do not take action as a result of reading this newsletter, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

Dean Statham,
29 King Street, Newcastle, Staffs, ST5 1ER.
Tel: 01782 614618  Fax: 01782 717287.
Web: www.dsonline.co.uk.

Dean Statham is a limited liability partnership, registered for VAT under reference 812 0016 96. Partners in the firm are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). This body has its headquarters in the UK and its rules of professional conduct can be obtained from its web site.

Dean Statham are authorised to act as statutory auditors by the ICAEW.