Local Life - Wigan - April 2020

52 Business View
Top TaxTips
by Chris Alcock - CMA Accountancy
For businesses and individuals
There are a variety of tax reliefs available to business owners and individuals. Here are our top tips for 2020
Tips for Business Owners
Capital Allowances – Prior to your year end,
maximise your capital expenditure and claim 100%
tax relief via the Annual Investment Allowance
Contribute to a Pension – Contributions are
efficient for the company and the directors.
Company contributions attract corporation tax
relief and individuals can claim relief from income
tax and N.I.
Research & Development Grants – Broadly
speaking, your company can claim an additional
130% tax deduction on qualifying R&D costs if it
undertook an R&D project that seeks to achieve an
advance in overall knowledge or capability.
Ensure you claim the Employers Allowance –
Small businesses are eligible to claim up to £3,000
towards their employers N.I., but it needs to be
claimed each tax year.
Maximising your Dividend Allowance – The
introduction of the dividend tax means that you
should carefully plan the timing and levels of
dividends to avoid higher rates of tax.
Tips for Individuals
Married Couples Allowance – You can transfer
£1,250 of your personal allowance to your spouse
or civil partner to lower the higher earner’s tax bill
and you can also backdate the claim if eligible.
Higher Rate Tax Thresholds – Stay under
the higher rate by making additional pension
contributions, making donations to charity or
making tax incentivised investments.
Using your Capital Gains Tax Annual Exemption
– It is possible to transfer assets to your partner at
no gain and therefore ensure that the respective
annual exemptions are fully used.
Tax on Jointly Owned Properties – You can apply
to vary the taxable income for couples, which is
useful if one partners pays a higher tax rate than
the other partner.
Child Benefit Tax – If your earnings exceed the
threshold of £50,000 and you receive Child Benefit
payments then you may have to pay back some or
all of this. There are reliefs available to offset this.
Exempt transfers IHT purposes – Gifting during
lifetime has become increasingly important due
to the IHT rate freeze. IHT exemptions include an
annual transfer of £3,000 and small gifts of up to
£250.
As well In addition to providing financial and tax advice to small businesses and individuals, CMA are
cloud accounting specialists. If you have any questions regarding your personal or business taxes please
do get in touch.