From 1 December 2016, the advisory fuel rates have changed to:

1400cc or less: petrol 11p per mile, LPG 7p per mile
1401-2000cc: petrol 14p per mile, LPG 9p per mile
Over 2000cc: petrol 21p per mile, LPG 13p per mile

Diesel rates:

1600cc or less: 9p per mile
1601-2000cc: 11p per mile
Over 2000cc: 13p per mile

These rates can be used from 1 December 2016 to calculate the petrol content of mileage rates paid to employees, or as a basis to repay private petrol provided by employers for the use of a company car (see previous article).

This is also an appropriate time of the year to consider your CGT position if you have already disposed of (or are considering a disposal) of an asset subject to CGT during 2016-17.

Most of our readers will be aware that they can make chargeable gains of up to £11,100 in the tax year 2016-17 and pay no CGT. This exemption cannot be transferred to a future tax year or carried back to a previous tax year if it is not utilised.

Many will also remember that it is no longer feasible to sell shares before 6 April 2017 in order to crystallise a CGT loss or a gain that is covered by the above exemption, if those shares, or part of them, are reacquired within 30 days of the disposal. However, it is still possible to reacquire holdings, within the 30 days period, if you use an ISA or self-invested personal pension (SIPP) to make the buy-back.

Transfers of chargeable assets for CGT purposes are exempt between spouses and civil partners. Also, the annual exemption is available to both parties. This combination means that couples may be able to share the gain on a disposal of assets and reduce their overall CGT charge.

This strategy, of transferring partial ownership to a spouse, can also reduce an overall CGT charge if the transferring partner/spouse is due to pay CGT at the higher 20% or 28% rate (as their gains fall to be taxed in the higher rate tax band) and the receiving partner/spouse would only be liable to pay CGT at the lower 10% or 18% (as their share of a transferred gain would fall into their free basic rate band).

The 10% and 20% rates apply from April 2016, but do not apply to disposals of residential property or carried interest – for these latter items, disposals are taxed at 18% to 28%, dependent on where the gains sit in the basic or higher rates bands.

And don’t forget, CGT is assessed and payable as part of your Self Assessment. Any tax payable for 2016-17 will be due for payment 31 January 2018. On the same day you will also have to pay any other underpayment of Income Tax for 2016-17 and your first payment on account for 2017-18.

If you own assets that are subject to CGT on disposal, and you, and possibly your spouse, are struggling to fully utilise your CGT annual exemption, or you would like to discuss ways to minimise any CGT payable, please call to discuss your options.

It is worth repeating an article we first published March 2016 that highlighted the cash benefit to company car drivers and their employers, of reimbursing the cost of fuel provided for private motoring. The rates have been updated for 2016-17.

Since the tax on private fuel provided with company cars is so high, many employers now have an arrangement whereby they no longer pay for private fuel. In this case, the employee must reimburse the employer for private fuel included in petrol bills paid by the employer. Otherwise, the employee may face a tax charge.

Consider the following example:

If your private mileage is currently 560 miles a month, and you drive a 1900cc diesel engine car, the rate per mile to cover fuel charges, as quoted in the latest rates published by HMRC, is 11p per mile. Accordingly, you should repay £61.60 a month to your employer.

Based on the above example, if the vehicle’s list price when new was £25,000, and the car benefit charge rate was 26% (based on a 130g/km CO2 rating) the benefit in kind charge for the year would be £6,500. With no repayment of private fuel, there would also be a £5,772 car fuel charge. Both these amounts would be added to your taxable income for the year. If you were a higher rate tax payer the car fuel charge would cost you £2,308.80 a year in additional tax (£5,772 x 40%). This amounts to £192.40 per month.

If your actual private mileage proved, on average, to be 560 miles a month, you would therefore save £130.80 per month (£192.40 – £61.60).

Employers will also benefit as they will no longer be subject to a National Insurance charge on the amount of the car fuel benefit. In the above example, it would reduce NIC costs by £796.54 (£5,772 x 13.8%).

It is worth crunching the numbers. Obviously, the lower your private mileage, the more likely a repayment system will save you money, but you will need to take action before the 5 April 2017.

From April 2017, the National Living Wage (NLW) for the over 25s is being increased to £7.50 per hour. This is an increase from the current NLW rate set in October 2016 of £7.20 an hour. For the over 25s, this will represent a wage increase of just over 4%.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) will also increase from the same date to:

• For 21 to 24 year olds – from £6.95 to £7.05 per hour
• For 18 to 20 year olds – from £5.55 to £5.60 per hour
• For 16 to 17 year olds – from £4.00 to £4.05 per hour
• For apprentices – from £3.40 to £3.50 per hour

The government will also be spending an additional £4.3m to ensure that employers are complying with their legal obligation to pay the NMW.

 

HMRC is to introduce an additional test that will determine the flat rate percentage used by traders. It would seem that HMRC presently considers the benefits obtained by certain businesses to be excessive and not in accord with the intentions of Parliament.

Traders that meet the new definition of a “limited cost trader” will be required to use a fixed rate of 16.5%. This will include traders who are already using the FRS scheme, and many at rates lower than 16.5%.

From 1 April 2017, FRS traders who meet the following definitions will be considered “limited cost traders” and will be obliged to use a new 16.5% rate. A limited cost trader will be defined as one whose VAT inclusive expenditure on goods is either:

• less than 2% of their VAT inclusive turnover in a prescribed accounting period
• greater than 2% of their VAT inclusive turnover but less than £1,000 per annum if the prescribed accounting period is one year (if it is not one year, the figure is the relevant proportion of £1,000)

Goods, for the purposes of this measure, must be used exclusively for the purpose of the business but exclude the following items:

• capital expenditure
• food or drink for consumption by the flat rate business or its employees
• vehicles, vehicle parts and fuel (except where the business is one that carries out transport services – for example a taxi business – and uses its own or a leased vehicle to carry out those services)

Businesses using the FRS will be expected to ensure that, for each accounting period, they use the appropriate flat rate percentage.

VAT traders using the FRS should review their position before April 2017 to ensure that there are still advantages to using the scheme.

Salary sacrifice is a term applied to benefits taken in place of salary. In many respects these benefits provide employees with higher “take home” value than if the benefits were treated the same as cash income. Mr Hammond is mindful to curb this practice as it is intended that the change will add £1bn a year to tax revenues by 2020.

No definitive list of benefits affected has been published, but benefits that may no longer be tax effective are:

• Mobile phones and tablets
• Car parking
• Gym membership, and possibly
• Health check-ups

There are a number of benefits that will not be affected by these changes. They are:

• Pensions
• Child care
• Cycle to work schemes
• Ultra-low emission cars (CO2 emissions up to 75g/km)

Benefits in place before April 2017 will be protected from restrictions for 1 year, and arrangements in place before April 2017 for cars, accommodation and school fees will be protected for up to 4 years.

For those who contribute towards or make-good their benefits to reduce the taxable amounts, they will have until the 6 July after the tax year to do so – starting 6 July 2017. This only applies to benefits not already taxed as income through payroll.

Readers who are concerned they will be affected by these changes should consider a review of their salary sacrifice/benefits arrangements prior to the April 2017 cut-off date.

 

Mr Hammond surprised listeners to his autumn statement speech when he said:

This is my first Autumn Statement as Chancellor. After careful consideration, and detailed discussion with the Prime Minister, I have decided that it will also be my last.

And then quickly followed with:

Mr Speaker I am abolishing the Autumn Statement. No other major economy makes hundreds of tax changes twice a year, and neither should we. So the spring Budget in a few months will be the final spring Budget.

Starting in autumn 2017, Britain will have an autumn Budget, announcing tax changes well in advance of the start of the tax year.

From 2018 there will be a Spring Statement, responding to the forecast from the OBR, but no major fiscal event. If unexpected changes in the economy require it, then I will, of course, announce actions at the Spring Statement, but I won’t make significant changes twice a year just for the sake of it.

This change will also allow for greater Parliamentary scrutiny of Budget measures ahead of their implementation.

Mr Speaker, this is a long-overdue reform to our tax-policy making process and brings the UK into line with best practice recommended by the IMF, IFS, Institute for government and many others.

Accordingly, 2017 will be a busy year for legislation. In effect, there will be two budgets, one in April 2017, and one in the autumn.

This is a welcome change as it will provide Parliament and tax advisors with time to absorb changes announced each autumn, before most of the changes become law in the following April – though this won’t stop them being effective from the date of announcement as is often the case, now.

 

It may be possible to delay paying Capital Gains Tax (CGT) if you sell a business asset that is subject to a charge to CGT, but you use all or part of the proceeds to buy new business assets. The relief you can claim is called Rollover Relief.

This relief means you won’t usually pay any CGT until you sell the new, replacement asset. Depending on the circumstances of the replacement asset sale, you may then need to pay CGT on the gain from the original asset.

You can also claim provisional Rollover Relief if you are planning to buy new assets with your proceeds of sale, but haven’t done so as yet, or if you use the proceeds to improve assets you already own.

To qualify for Rollover Relief, the following circumstances must apply:

• you must buy the new assets within 3 years of selling or disposing of the old ones (or up to one year before)
• your business must be trading when you sell the old assets and buy the new ones
• you must use the old and new assets in your business

You can claim relief on assets including land and buildings, fixed plant or machinery – and space stations! The old and new assets don’t have to be the same kind.

Different rules apply if you only reinvest part of the proceeds from selling the old assets, if the old were only partly used in your business, or if you use the proceeds to buy ‘depreciating assets’ (fixed plant or machinery, or assets expected to last for less than 60 years when acquired).

The devil as always is in the detail. If you are considering the sale of an asset that would normally be subject to a CGT charge, and you are aiming to replace the asset, we would suggest that you call to discuss the transactions to make sure you make the most of this relief.

From 6 April 2013, the total amount of certain Income Tax reliefs that can be used to reduce your total taxable income is limited to £50,000, or 25% of your adjusted total income, if higher.

The main reliefs subject to this limit are:

• trade loss relief against general income and early trade losses relief – claimed on the self-employment, Lloyd’s underwriters or partnership pages
• property loss relief (relating to capital allowances or agricultural expenses) – claimed on the UK property or foreign pages
• post-cessation trade relief, post-cessation property relief, employment loss relief, former employee’s deduction for liabilities, losses on deeply discounted securities and strips of government securities – claimed on the additional information pages
• share loss relief, unless claimed on Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Seed Enterprise Investment
• Scheme (SEIS) shares – claimed on the capital gains summary pages
• qualifying loan interest – claimed on the additional information pages

These restrictions do not apply to Gift Aid relief; nor pension contributions which have their own limits.

It is worth considering these restrictions as they may limit your ability to recover a proportion of cash lost by claiming a reduction in tax payable on future or past income and/or gains.

 

The length of time you need to keep tax records depends on the types of income you earn and the types of tax you are paying. A list of time limits is set out below:

Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax

1. If you are not in business
   One year from the 31 January following the end of the tax year. For 2016-17, you would need to keep your records until 31 January 2019.
2. If you are in business – which includes rental income
   Five years from the 31 January following the end of the tax year. For 2016-17, you would need to keep your business and other tax records until 31 January 2023.

A company subject to Corporation Tax
Six years from the end of an accounting period. For the year ending 31 December 2016 you would need to keep records until 31 December 2022.

VAT
You should keep records for at least six years.

PAYE
You should keep payroll records for three years after the end of a tax year. For 2016-17 this would be until 5 April 2020.

These deadlines can be extended. For example, if:

• You file your return late.
• A return is subject to an enquiry or compliance check.
• Records relate to a transaction spanning more than one year.

An asset is bought which is expected to have a life longer beyond the time limit.