Employing your spouse in the business
If you are self-employed and your spouse helps out with general administration, or any other role, it is quite legitimate to pay your
spouse a salary. Just follow sensible commercial rules and you will have no problem with the Inland Revenue. In particular pay, a
market rate for the type of work done and the number of hours worked. Sole traders with higher rate tax liabilities will benet
significantly from this arrangement.
What about the Garden Shed?
Are you selling that second or third home and want to reduce any capital gains tax that you may need to pay? The garden shed and
other fixtures and things are treated as wasting chattels for Capital Gains Tax, i.e. when you sell them there is no tax to pay. Why
not ask your solicitor to allocate part of the selling price in the contract to these items? Make sure you seek advice regarding
Stamp Duty Land Tax when considering these issues.
Low interest loans provided by employers
Providing you are not a director, it may be possible for a company to lend an employee up to £5,000 with no tax complications.
This can be useful if say the employee needs to buy out his company car to avoid benet in kind tax charges.
Capital Gains – Using Home as Ofce
If you claim tax relief for the use of a room as an ofce you can avoid any possibility of CGT on a sale of your home if you make
sure that the room is not used exclusively for business. A portable TV and your golf clubs stored in the home ofce could
be sufcient.
Recover Vat
Recover VAT on invoices that you have paid or received before you register for VAT by including the input VAT on your rst
return. Make sure you have the VAT invoice and keep a schedule of the adjustments you have made.
To identify further ways on how to reduce your tax payments,there are many options available.
Tax saving tips!
