Our Blog
News and tax updates to keep you informed.
Higher residential SDLT threshold extended
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is payable when you buy a property in England or Northern Ireland. Last year, the SDLT residential threshold was temporarily increased to £500,000 with effect from 8 July 2020. The threshold was due to revert to its normal level of £125,000 from 1 April 2021, but this has now been delayed.
Taxation of company cars in 2021/22
If you are an employee with a company car, you will be taxed on the benefit derived from the car being available for your private use. If you are an employer who makes company cars available to your employees, they will be taxed on the associated benefit. The amount that is charged to tax depends predominantly on the list price of the car and its appropriate percentage. There are some changes to the appropriate percentages for 2021/22.
Recovery loan scheme
If you need to access finance to help your business recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Recovery Loan Scheme may be for you.
Family companies and the optimal salary for 2021/22
If you run your business as a personal or family company, you will need to decide how best to extract profits for your personal use. A typical tax-efficient strategy is to pay yourself a small salary and then extract any further profits as dividends. Where this approach is adopted, you will need to determine your optimal salary level of 2021/22.
Extended carry-back for losses
To help businesses which have suffered losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the period for which certain trading losses can be carried back is extended from one year to three years. The extended carry-back period applies for both income tax and corporation tax purposes. If you have made losses as a result of the impact of the pandemic, you may be able to take advantage of the extended carry-back period to generate a welcome tax repayment.
Corporation tax increase from April 2023
The main rate of corporation tax is due to increase to 25% for the financial year 2023, starting on 1 April 2023. However, companies with profits of £50,000 or less will continue to pay corporation tax at the current rate of 19%. Companies whose taxable profits fall between £50,000 and £250,000 will pay corporation tax at the main rate of 25%, but will receive marginal relief which will reduce the effective rate of tax that they pay.