April 2016

Money matters
will allow residential landlords
to deduct the actual costs of
replacing furnishings.
Rent-a-room relief increases
from £4,250 to £7,500.
Advertorial
New rates of stamp duty that
are 3% higher than the current
bands will be introduced
from the first of this month
on purchases of additional
properties, such as buy-to-lets
and holiday homes.
Alan Patient
Alan Patient & Co, LoveEast's
accountancy experts, explain how to
stay on the right side of HMRC
Big changes in taxation are in
the pipeline for this year and
while many of us will feel the
impact, owners of small limited
companies should be especially
aware.
From April 2016, watch out for
the following:
Dividend taxation
The 10% dividend tax credit will
be abolished and replaced with
a £5,000 dividend tax allowance.
Dividend income exceeding the
annual allowance will be taxed
according to an individual’s
income tax band. Basic rate
taxpayers will pay 7.5%, higher
rate 32.5% and additional
rate 38.1%.
Personal savings allowance
A new allowance to remove
tax on up to £1,000 of savings
income for basic rate taxpayers,
and up to £500 for higher rate
taxpayers will be introduced.
Pensions
There will be a reduction in
the £40,000 annual pension
contribution allowance where
income exceeds £150,000. The
annual allowance will reduce
by £1 for every £2 of income in
excess of £150,000, down to
a minimum of £10,000.
Property
The wear and tear allowance
on furnished properties will be
replaced with a new relief that
Auto-enrolment
If you are an employer you will
be required to provide your
employees with a workplace
pension. More than a million
small employers will be required
to set up an Auto Enrolment
(AE) compliant workplace
pension scheme this year,
with many more to follow in
2017 and 2018.
Accountancy standards
For accounting periods
starting from 1 January 2015,
new accounting standards
are required as part of an EU
directive. While for most small
companies this will not come
into force until accounting
periods starting from 1 January
2016, this will mean radical
changes for most accounts as
the new standards require the
previous year to be translated
to reflect these changes as well.
If you're affected by any of these
changes, don't hesitate to call us
and we'll be happy to offer advice.
Our first consultation is free!
Alan Patient & Co.
9 The Shrubberies, George Lane
South Woodford, E18 1BD
020 8532 9843
alanpatient.com
32 LOVEEAST