You can give away £3,000 worth of gifts each tax year (6 April to 5 April) without them being added to the value of your estate. This is known as your ‘annual exemption’.
You can carry any unused annual exemption forward to the next year – but only for one year.
Each tax year, you can also give away:
• wedding or civil ceremony gifts of up to £1,000 per person (£2,500 for a grandchild or great-grandchild, £5,000 for a child),
• normal gifts out of your income, for example Christmas or birthday presents – you must be able to maintain your standard of living after making the gift,
• payments to help with another person’s living costs, such as an elderly relative or a child under 18,
• gifts to charities and political parties.
You can use more than one of these exemptions on the same person – for example, you could give your grandchild gifts for her birthday and wedding in the same tax year.
Small gifts up to £250
You can give as many gifts of up to £250 per person as you want during the tax year as long as you have not used another exemption on the same person.

Options for adopting 99% of tax planning opportunities for 2018-19 ends on 5 April 2019, just a couple of months away.
This applies equally to individuals and all businesses with an accounting year end close to, but prior to 5 April 2019.
More importantly, this planning option applies to all taxes: Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Corporation Tax; and in some cases, to National Insurance and VAT.
Organise a tax planning review now.
If your personal or business tax affairs are complex, make sure you avail yourself of this moment of reflection before 5 April 2019. Once the date is passed, there is no chance the clock can be turned back.
2019 will likely be marked out as the year when our present relationship with the rest of Europe changes, once again adding to the usual pressures faced by UK businesses. There has never been a more opportune moment to take time out from running your business to consider your planning options for the current tax year.
As time is limited please call now to discuss your options.

 

1 January 2019 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 March 2018.

19 January 2019 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2019)

19 January 2019 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 January 2019.

19 January 2019 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 January 2019 is payable by today.

31 January 2019 – Last day to file 2017-18 self-assessment tax returns online.

31 January 2019 – Balance of self-assessment tax owing for 2017-18 due to be settled on or before today. Also due is any first payment on account for 2018-19.

1 February 2019 – Due date for Corporation Tax payable for the year ended 30 April 2018.

19 February 2019 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 February 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 February 2019)

19 February 2019 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 February 2019.

19 February 2019 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 February 2019 is payable by today.

This article is also relevant to couples who have entered into a civil partnership.

For the tax year 2018-19, taxpayers can make tax-free capital gains of up to £11,700.

This allowance is available on a per person basis and so married couples (and those in a civil partnership) have a combined CGT allowance of £23,400.

Consider married couple John and Joy. Joy wants to dispose of a block of shares before 6 April 2019, but this will create a taxable gain of £22,000. After her CGT allowance is deducted this will create a CGT bill of £2,060 – Joy is a higher rate taxpayer and so she would pay CGT at 20%.

John is retired and has relatively little income for 2018-19 and no capital gains. It is quite legitimate for Joy to gift 50% of her shares to John before they are sold – gifts between spouses and civil partners are free of CGT. Each party would then sell their half-shares and chargeable gains of £11,000 each would be covered by their £11,700 allowance. Hey presto, no CGT to pay.

John and Joy decide to use the tax saved to fund a well earned winter break abroad. Not a bad outcome and an entirely acceptable tax planning ploy.

 

Named the additional rate, the highest rate of Income Tax is 45%, and some might say 45% is high enough.

However, if the rate of tax is measured as the relationship between income and tax plus tax related penalties paid, there are times when this 45% can rise, to as much as 90%.

For example, if HMRC discovers that a taxpayer has been negligent in declaring all their income for tax purposes, they can charge a penalty. This can be as much as 100% of the tax due – effectively this doubles the rate of tax charged. And so, if you are paying tax on under-declared income at 45%, and if a 100% penalty is levied, the effective rate of tax charged is 90% of the income declared.

Whilst this may be an extreme example, consider taxpayers whose income exceeds £100,000. For the tax year 2018-19, for every £2 your income exceeds £100,000 you lose £1 of your tax personal allowance. This means that taxable income between £100,000 and £123,700 is taxed at an effective rate of 60%.

All is not what it seems.

31 January is the date by which any arrears of tax for 2017-18 need to be settled, together with a payment on account for 2018-19, if one is due.

Those who have completed their tax returns for 2017-18 should be aware what these liabilities amount to and any clients reading this article who are unsure what they should be paying, please call so that we can advise in good time.

If you have cash problems and are unable to clear tax due on the 31 January, you can approach HMRC for extended terms. Call:

Business Payment Support Service – 0300 200 3835, or
Self Assessment Payment Helpline – 0300 200 3822

If you miss the payment deadline and receive a letter or bill threatening legal action, call the HMRC office that sent you the letter.

Before you call be sure to estimate how much you can pay on account and you will normally need to clear any balance before any future payments on account become due (ordinarily this would be before 31 July 2019 when the second payment on account for 2018-19 falls due).

And don’t forget, HMRC will charge interest on tax paid late and penalties so make your call before the 31st January 2019 to minimise these costs.

1 December 2018 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 29 February 2018.
19 December 2018 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 December 2018. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 December 2018)
19 December 2018 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 December 2018.
19 December 2018 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 December 2018 is payable by today.
30 December 2018 – Deadline for filing 2017-18 self-assessment tax returns online to include a claim for under payments to be collected via tax code in 2019-20.
1 January 2019 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 March 2018.
19 January 2019 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2019)
19 January 2019 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 January 2019.
19 January 2019 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 January 2019 is payable by today.
31 January 2019 – Last day to file 2017-18 self-assessment tax returns online.

When a director has been found guilty of mismanagement verging on fraud, one of the remedies that the courts can impose is disqualification as a director. But what does this actually mean?
A disqualified director has to abide to the following restrictions:
• While the order or undertaking is in force, it stops a person acting as if they were a director. Accordingly, you cannot avoid the order, or undertaking by simply changing the job description.
• The order or undertaking also means that you must not get other people to manage a company under your instructions. If you do, those people may also be prosecuted for assisting you in contravening the order or undertaking.
The order or undertaking does not stop you having a job with a company, but unless you have court permission it does stop you:
• acting as a director of a company;
• taking part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership;
• being a receiver of a company’s property.
You also cannot act as an insolvency practitioner.
In addition to companies, you must not do any of the prohibited acts in relation to the following organisations: Limited liability partnerships (LLPs), Building societies, Incorporated friendly societies, NHS foundation trusts, Open-ended investment companies, Registered societies and Charitable incorporated organisations.
A disqualification order will not stop you carrying on a business as a sole trader. You could also trade in a partnership, but not a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).

Businesses that presently trade with the EU block may like to consider applying for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. The following notes explain why this may be helpful.
AEO status is an internationally recognised quality mark that shows:
• your role in the international supply chain is secure;
• your customs controls and procedures are efficient and meet EU standards.
It’s not mandatory, but gives quicker access to some simplified customs procedures and, in some cases, the right to ‘fast-track’ your shipments through some customs and safety and security procedures.
AEO status is for businesses that:
• are a legal entity;
• are established in the territory of one of the 28 member states of the EU;
• are actively involved in customs operations and international trade;
• have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number.
Anyone involved in the international supply chain that carries out customs related activities in the EU can apply for AEO status, regardless of the size of their business. This includes:
• manufacturers
• exporters
• freight forwarders
• warehouse keepers
• customs agents
• carriers
• importers
• others (for example, port operators, secure freight parking operatives and airline loaders)
Types of AEO authorisation and their benefits
You can apply for AEO status customs simplification (AEOC), AEO status security and safety (AEOS), or both.
AEOC status
If you hold AEOC status, you could also benefit from:
• a faster application process for customs simplifications and authorisations;
• reductions or waivers of comprehensive guarantees;
• completing self-assessment (when implemented).
Whatever the outcome from the current Brexit impasse, AEO status does seem to offer advantages to importers and exporters.

Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,190 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner – if they earn more than you.
This reduces their tax by up to £238 in the tax year. To benefit from this arrangement, you (as the lower earner) must have an income below your Personal Allowance – this is £11,850 for the current tax year.
You can backdate your claim to include any tax year since 5 April 2015.
If your partner has died since 5 April 2015 you can still claim – phone the Income Tax helpline. If your partner was the lower earner, the person responsible for managing their tax affairs needs to phone.
Who can apply?
You can benefit from Marriage Allowance if all the following apply:
• You’re married or in a civil partnership.
• You do not pay Income Tax, or your income is below your Personal Allowance (£11,850 for 2018-19).
• Your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £11,851 and £46,350.
If you’re in Scotland, your partner must pay the starter, basic or intermediate rate, which usually means their income is between £11,850 and £43,430.
It will not affect your application for Marriage Allowance if you or your partner:
• are currently receiving a pension;
• live abroad – as long as you get a Personal Allowance.
If you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you might benefit more as a couple by applying for Married Couple’s Allowance instead.