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The most common type of vehicle used by employees is a company car, rather than any other type of vehicle. There is no statutory definition of a car within the direct tax legislation. However, VAT Input Tax Order 1992/3222 defines a car as: ‘any motor vehicle of a kind normally used on public roads which

With ongoing economic pressure across a number of business sectors, bad debts are becoming an increasingly frequent problem for businesses taxed on an accrual basis (i.e., when invoiced), rather than on a cash basis (i.e., when payment is received). Such businesses include companies and unincorporated traders above the £150,000 turnover threshold. Where debts are confirmed

Without planning, investment returns can be eroded by taxes. When investing, you always need to consider the tax implications and look at net-of-tax returns. Tax- advantaged wrappers can help with this (ISAs, LISAs, pensions etc), but sometimes the investment itself can be tax-efficient even without structuring. UK gilts are one such investment. What is a

Over the decades, capital allowances for plant and machinery (P&M) have been one of the areas of tax that has undergone continual change. Following the abolition of the ‘super-deduction’ (i.e., 130% relief for qualifying expenditure) in April 2023, we seem to have entered an era of relative stability. Since 1 April 2023, ‘full expensing’ (i.e.,

The capital goods scheme (CGS) is designed to adjust the amount of VAT claimed on a capital item during the ‘life’ of an asset to reflect its taxable business use. The CGS applies to certain commercial property, some computer hardware and certain ships, boats and aircraft, and adjusts for taxable or exempt and non-business use

Tax relief can be claimed when an individual borrows money to invest in their company, if certain conditions are satisfied. The borrowed funds might be used (for example) to purchase additional ordinary shares in the company, or to lend money for the company’s business use. Meeting the conditions The conditions for tax relief to be

Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) are paid by employees and by employers on their employees’ earnings. For most employees, their (primary) contributions are deducted from their salary for each pay period, and the employer also pays a separate (secondary) contribution on top. Directors may be employees if they have a contract or service agreement.

Mark McLaughlin warns that a lack of supporting evidence can be fatal to a tax relief claim for expenses. Question: What do the following statements have in common? • My wife has been seeing aliens • My mother-in-law is a witch and put a curse on me. • I fell in with the wrong crowd.