Catax

Freeports: What are they and what are the Capital Allowances implications?

One of the key events of 2021 for the accountancy sector was the creation of eight new so-called freeports across England. The move, announced in March, could have major implications for tens of thousands of businesses across the country, affecting how they can be run in the most tax-efficient way.…

Read More »

R&D tax credits: What governs how they are paid out?

A crucial part of R&D tax planning reaches beyond qualifying expenditure to how the benefit is ultimately passed on to the claimant. There are actually a number of factors that inform what type of benefit the client receives, including the client’s preference, the financial position of the company and whether…

Read More »

Why are ‘connected-party’ subcontractors treated differently in R&D tax credit claims?

One of the most appealing aspects of the R&D tax credit scheme is that companies can claim for subcontractor costs. Use of external expertise in R&D is commonplace and this rule can significantly enhance the size of the benefit available. However, when the companies providing subcontractors or Externally Provided Workers…

Read More »

How tax relief for RoCL can eclipse R&D tax credits

R&D tax credits might be the business relief that dominates accountants’ time but in some ways it’s not as generous as one of the most niche tax benefits going. Remediation of Contaminated Land (RoCL) tax relief has been around nearly as long as the R&D tax credit scheme — launched…

Read More »

Hot properties: Which industries attract the biggest Capital Allowances claims and why?

Capital Allowances (CAs) are a well-known form of tax relief in accountancy practice but not all businesses are born equal when it comes to the potential benefit. When considering a commercial property, accountants will be aware that CAs are available on fixed plant such as basic electrics, lighting, heating, sanitary…

Read More »

The new PAYE cap for R&D tax credits and its impact

The UK government finally re-introduced a PAYE cap for R&D tax credit claims this month following the March Budget. It had been slated for introduction in 2020 but was postponed. Now that it is finally here, we’ll look at who the winners and losers are, with a working example to…

Read More »

How you purchase a company could affect your capital allowances claim

When contemplating the acquisition of a company, there is a choice on how the purchase is structured. The buyer can either purchase the assets and trade from the company or buy the shares of the company. For an asset sale, some or all the assets owned by a company are…

Read More »

IFA: Tax Series webinar

Webinar series summary After the success of the 2020 tax series, we are running another online series which will focus on a number of  tax topics. Each two hour session features two industry expert speakers. Agenda: Tax investigations: what you need to know – Chris Watts, Associate Director of ETC Tax A Budget update, what you need to be aware of…

Read More »

Property owners and their maximum CGT benefit

There is significant tax relief waiting to be unlocked from commercial property, but there are still plenty of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the rules. One common misconception we encounter concerns Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Capital Allowances. When a commercial property is sold at a profit, the profit is subject…

Read More »

Family affair: How R&D claims suffer if a close relative owns a similar business

HMRC’s R&D tax credit scheme for SMEs is more rewarding than that for larger businesses but this doesn’t mean they’re always allowed to access it. To be an SME for R&D purposes, a business has to have a head count of less than 500 employees as well as either a…

Read More »