Filed under: property
Over the years, our tax planning advice when buying property has varied according to a client’s tax position and funding availability at the time. We are always being asked the question “should property be bought personally or through a company?” The answer to this question is not clear-cut; in recent years the tax relief available on the disposal of commercial property favoured the purchase of this type of property personally, but the reliefs are ever changing, and the answer has become more subjective.
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January 22, 2013
What else is new on the property tax front? Back on our own shores, other property tax changes to be aware of relate to the rules concerning the amount of VAT payable or reclaimable for property developments. If you are interested in developing a property or building a new home, it is worth taking expert VAT advice and understanding how you might be able to reclaim some of the VAT paid out before you start the project. (more…)
July 26, 2012
There have been a number of significant property tax changes recently, which are relevant to property owners and investors. One very high profile change has been the increase in taxes payable by the 200,000 British owners of property in France. This was introduced by the country’s new President Francoise Hollande and has been publically criticised as a blatant attack on ‘les rosbifs’. However in reality the financial impact might not be as great as all the media headlines would have you believe, as we explain. (more…)
July 26, 2012
The morality of what is described by David Cameron as ‘aggressive tax avoidance’ is big news right now after the debacle with Jimmy Carr and his participation in the K2 scheme. Celebrities and the very wealthy are clearly being targeted as HMRC continues to seek ways to improve its incoming revenue levels.
Over recent years, the high end property market in London has seen non-UK domiciled individuals making expensive purchases through offshore companies. This has had a number of advantages – confidentiality, avoidance of inheritance tax and capital gains tax (CGT), and reduced stamp duty land tax (SDLT) by the purchase of shares in a company owning property rather than the property itself, to name a few. (more…)
June 26, 2012
Property continues to be a popular investment and a recent tax tribunal case illustrates why careful capital gains tax planning is so important for multiple property owners in the Surrey area. The case in point concerns a ruling by the tax tribunal against a couple – the Hartes – whose claim for capital gains principal private residence (PPR) tax relief was refused. This was in spite of the couple having submitted an election in favour of the property.
The reason HMRC took this stance was because there was insufficient evidence to show that the property was indeed their primary home, even though the owners had made an election to that effect. What can we learn from this case? If you own more than one property, what should you be aware of to minimise capital gains tax (CGT) if and when you do eventually sell? (more…)
May 25, 2012
HMRC are constantly on the lookout for ways to close tax loopholes and increase their overall tax revenues. Over the past few weeks we have run numerous blogs about new disclosure opportunities and campaigns designed to increase Treasury income.
Last month HMRC issued another consultation document entitled ‘Capital Allowances for Fixtures’ which explained how they intend to review these rules in their favour. If you have bought, built, refurbished or renovated commercial premises and still own the building, you should understand the proposed changes and act as appropriate. It may be that your ability to claim tax relief for capital allowances expenditure is otherwise significantly diminished in the future. (more…)
July 27, 2011
Installment 2 of our focus on entrepreneurs’ relief. In essence, the entrepreneurs’ relief rules can appear deceptively simple; it can be dangerous to assume that all business assets qualify for the relief and this should be regularly checked. In addition, there are ways in which the relief can be maximised with forward planning. With the recent increase in the top rate of capital gains tax to 28%, it is a valuable relief and worth arranging your business affairs to ensure it is maximised.
Continue June 13, 2011
HRMC has been experiencing a lot of problems in recent months as we all know, with incorrect coding notices being the most high profile. Due to a mixture of computer and personnel errors, the blunders continue and we face them all the time in our daily dealings with individual Revenue advisors. In some cases the mistakes are so nonsensical, they are actually rather comical, although for the individual taxpayer facing a lengthy tax re-claim, perhaps not……
Continue March 16, 2011
The tax bloggers at RJP’s latest article explains ‘flipping’ – an important tax planning strategy for property owners.
’Flipping’’ a property became widely known as a property tax planning tactic when the MPs’ expenses scandal was in full swing. In addition to claiming for all sorts of expenses, it was discovered that MPs were avoiding capital gains tax on second homes by alternating their living arrangements between properties owned, in some cases spending just one week a year in any one property.
Continue November 4, 2010
HMRC’s definition of fixed costs makes it more straightforward to claim for expenses when working from home but this applies to sole traders and partnerships only – not limited companies or employees – and qualifying criteria must be met.
Business owners with a limited company can also claim for a home office by ‘renting’ the designated room at market rates. They may also be able offset this profit against any property investment losses and therefore reduce corporation tax.
Read the full article to see how you can save tax
Continue September 29, 2010
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