Non-resident company taxation

Posted on 21st July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

Non-resident companies with a trading business in the UK are liable to pay UK Corporation Tax on their profits made through a permanent establishment/branch or agency.

If the non-resident company is deemed liable to pay Corporation Tax, then its chargeable profits are:

any trading income arising directly or indirectly through or from the permanent establishment/branch or agency,
any income from property or rights used by, or held by or for, the permanent establishment/branch or agency except dividends or other distributions received from companies resident in the UK, and
chargeable gains falling within TCGA92/S10B.

There are however some differences in the taxation of non-resident companies as opposed to resident companies. For example, a non-resident company:

is not liable to account for ACT on distributions made before to 6 April 1999,
cannot have 'franked investment income',
cannot have surplus franked investment income for the purposes of ICTA88/S242,
cannot set trading losses against dividend income to augment its trading income for the purposes of absorbing losses brought forward.

Any UK-source income received by a non-resident company which does not carry on a trade in the UK through a permanent establishment/branch or agency is subject to UK Income Tax. Any Income Tax due is calculated at the basic rate only without any allowances, subject to any applicable Double Taxation Agreement.

Entitlement to National Minimum Wage

Posted on 21st July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

Employers must ensure they are paying staff the new National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates for the period from 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 23 or over. The rate for the NLW is £9.50. The hourly rate of the NMW (for 21-22-year-olds) is £9.18. The rates for 18-20-year-olds is £6.83 and the rate for workers above the school leaving age but under 18 is £4.81. The NMW rate for apprentices is £4.81.

HMRC’s manuals discusses the legal entitlement for employees to be paid the NMW. Most workers in the United Kingdom who are over compulsory school leaving age (and those who ordinarily work in the United Kingdom) are entitled to be paid at least National Minimum Wage rates.

This entitlement to the NMW is set out in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, section 1 as follows:

(1) A person who qualifies for the National Minimum Wage shall be remunerated by his employer in respect of his work in any pay reference period at a rate which is not less than the National Minimum Wage.
(2) A person qualifies for the National Minimum Wage if he is an individual who-

is a worker.
is working, or ordinarily works, in the United Kingdom under his contract, and
has ceased to be of compulsory school age.

It is important that employers ensure they pay employees at least the minimum wage to which they are entitled. There are penalties for non-payment of minimum wages of up to 200% of the amount owed. The penalty is reduced by 50% if all of the unpaid wages and 50% of the penalty are paid in full within 14 days.

The maximum fine for non-payment can be up to £20,000 per employee. Employers who fail to pay, face up to a 15-year ban from being a company director as well as being publicly named and shamed.

NIC threshold increased

Posted on 21st July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

In the Spring Statement earlier this year, the then Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced an NIC tax-cut to take effect from 6 July 2022. This change sees the National Insurance threshold increased from £9,880 to £12,570. This increase means that the Primary Threshold (PT) for Class 1 NICs and Lower Profits Limit (LPL) for Class 4 NICs are now aligned with the personal allowance of £12,570. It was also confirmed as part of the Spring Statement measures that the thresholds will remain aligned going forward.

The NIC tax cut is worth up to £330 for thirty million taxpayers across the UK and represents a £6 billion tax cut. According to government figures this means that around 70% of employees will pay less NICs, even accounting for the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy.

The NIC PT and LPL remained at £9,880 (as previously announced) from 6 April 2022 – 5 July 2022. Whilst it is unusual for tax rates to change during a tax year the short period remaining after the Spring Statement and the start of the 2022-23 tax year meant that the increase was delayed for 3 months until 6 July 2022. This means that the average LPL will be £11,908 for the 2022-23 tax year which is equivalent to 13 weeks of the threshold at £9,880 and 39 weeks at £12,570.

Applying for Marriage Allowance

Posted on 21st July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

The marriage allowance can be claimed by married couples and those in a civil partnership where a spouse or civil partner does not pay tax or does not pay tax above the basic rate threshold for Income Tax (i.e., one of the couples must currently earn less than the £12,570 personal allowance for 2022-23).

The allowance works by permitting the lower earning partner to transfer up to £1,260 of their personal tax-free allowance to their spouse or civil partner. The marriage allowance can only be used when the recipient of the transfer (the higher earning partner) does not pay tax at the higher Income Tax rates. This would usually mean that their income is between £12,570 to £50,270 in 2022-23. The limits are somewhat different for those living in Scotland.

This transfer of unused allowances could result in a saving of up to £252 for the recipient (20% of £1,260), or £21 a month for the current tax year.

If you meet the eligibility requirements and have not yet claimed the allowance, you can backdate your claim to 6 April 2018. This could result in a total tax refund of up to £1,220 if you can claim for 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 as well as the current 2022-23 tax year. If you claim now, you can backdate your claim for four years (if eligible) as well as for the current tax year. In fact, even if you are no longer eligible but would have been in all or any of the preceding years then you can still claim your entitlement.

Tax when you get your pension

Posted on 21st July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

There are special rules which allow individuals who have set up private pension scheme(s) to benefit from significant tax reliefs when saving for their retirement. There is no overall limit to the amount of employer or employee contributions and no upper limit to the total amount of pension saving that can be accumulated. However, there are important limits that affect the tax reliefs available. For example, you will usually need to pay a tax charge if your private pension pots total more than £1,073,100. There will also be tax to pay if your pension contributions exceed £40,000 in any tax year, unless covered by unused relief from the previous three years, (this £40,000 limit may be reduced for high income earners).

Certain pension benefits can be taken tax-free. In general, you can take 25% of your pension pot as a one-off lump sum without paying tax but the remaining 75% must be used to buy an annuity, to secure an adjustable income or taken as cash (with tax due on the balance). You can also take smaller cash sums from your pension pot and 25% of each chunk would be tax free.

However, it is important that taxpayers are aware of the tax position when receiving pension income. Apart from the special tax-free benefits, pension income is treated as earned income for Income Tax purposes and any Income Tax payable is calculated as per the usual rules. The personal allowance for the current tax year is £12,570. There is no liability to pay National Insurance contributions on pension income.

Income Tax is also due on the State Pension, earnings from employment or self-employment and any other taxable income received.

Qualifying for residence nil rate band

Posted on 21st July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

The Inheritance Tax residence nil rate band (RNRB) is a transferable allowance for married couples and civil partners (per person) when their main residence is passed down to a direct descendent such as children or grandchildren after their death.

The allowance increased to the present maximum level of £175,000 from 6 April 2020. The allowance is available to the deceased person’s children or grandchildren. Any unused portion of the RNRB can be transferred to a surviving spouse or partner. The RNRB is on top of the existing £325,000 Inheritance Tax nil-rate band.

The allowance is available to the deceased person's children or grandchildren. Taken together with the current Inheritance Tax limit of £325,000 this means that married couples and civil partners can pass on property worth up to £1 million free of Inheritance Tax to their direct descendants.

There is a tapering of the RNRB for estates worth more than £2 million even where the family home is left to direct descendants. The additional threshold will be reduced by £1 for every £2 that the estate is worth more than the £2 million taper threshold. This can result in the full amount of the RNRB being tapered away.

The RNRB maximum rate of £175,000 and the taper threshold are currently frozen until at least April 2026.

Changes at HM Treasury

Posted on 14th July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

Last week saw the resignation of the previous Chancellor Rishi Sunak from the Government. The previous Chancellor said he could no longer continue in his role in good conscience.

The Prime Minister almost immediately sought to fill this role and appointed Nadhim Zahawi as Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, the Prime Ministers move to shore up his support, in the face of mass resignations, was short lived and within 2 days Boris Johnson had announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister.

As things stand, it seems likely that a new Prime Minister will be appointed by September with Boris Johnson remaining in his role until then. The new Chancellor also appears to be remaining in his role, but it is unlikely there will be any far-reaching changes to UK taxes until a new Prime Minister is in place.

There was also another new appointment to the ministerial team at the Treasury with Alan Mak appointed Exchequer Secretary on 7 July 2022.

The new Prime Minister and his or her Chancellor will want to stamp their authority on legislation when in post in which case it is possible that we will have an early Autumn Budget that may see major fiscal changes.

Tax gap remains at 5.1%

Posted on 14th July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

The tax gap for the 2020-21 tax year has been published and remains at 5.1%. This is the second lowest recorded percentage and remains unchanged from the previous 2019-20 tax year.

The tax gap is basically the difference between the amount of tax that should have been paid to HMRC and the amount of tax collected by the Exchequer. The gap includes tax that has been avoided in the UK’s black economy, by criminal activities, through tax avoidance and evasion. However, it also includes simple errors made by taxpayers in calculating the tax they owe as well as outstanding tax due from businesses that have become insolvent.

In monetary terms, the tax gap is equivalent to lost tax of £32 billion. This is £2 billion less than the tax gap in 2019-20. This is due to the fact that total amount of tax due fell from £672 billion in 2019-20 to £635 billion in 2020-21 because of the economic impact of COVID-19.

The key findings from HMRC’s Measuring the Tax Gap publication include:

The UK tax gap in 2020-21 is estimated to be 5.1% of total theoretical tax liabilities (£32 billion), which means HMRC protected 94.9% of all tax due.
The tax gap reduced from 7.5% in the tax year 2005-6 to 5.1% in 2020-21.
The tax gap for Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and Capital Gains Tax (IT, NICs and CGT) is 3.5% in 2020-21 at £12.7 billion – this is the biggest share of the total tax gap when viewed by type of tax (39.5%).
The tax gap for VAT is 7% in 2020-21 and is the second biggest share of the total tax gap at £9 billion (28.0%).
The tax gap for Corporation Tax reduced from 11.5% in 2005-6 to 9.2% in 2020-21 reaching a low of 6.5% in 2011 to 2012 and remaining stable since 2014-15.

HMRC’s press release on the tax gap states that ‘the reduction is a result of the government’s action to help taxpayers get their tax right first time, whilst bearing down on the small minority who are deliberately non-compliant’. The tax gap was estimated to be as high as 7.5% in 2005-6.

Old style £20 and £50 notes

Posted on 14th July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

The Bank of England will be withdrawing legal tender status of paper £20 and £50 banknotes after 30 September 2022. This means that if you have any old £20 or £50 notes you should use them or deposit them at your bank or Post Office by the end of September.

A recent Bank of England press release states that ‘while the majority of paper £20 and £50 banknotes in circulation have been replaced with new polymer versions, there are still over £6 billion worth of paper £20 featuring the economist Adam Smith, and over £8 billion worth of paper £50 banknotes featuring the engineers Boulton and Watt, in circulation. That’s more than 300 million individual £20 banknotes, and 160 million paper £50 banknotes’.

The new polymer £20 note entered into circulation on 20 February 2020 and features the image of the artist JMW Turner. The new polymer £50 note features an image of the scientist Alan Turing and entered into circulation on 23 June 2021. Polymer is a thin flexible plastic that includes a number of important new security features. Polymer notes are cleaner, safer and stronger than existing paper notes.

Even after the notes no longer have legal tender status they can be presented for exchange either in person at the Bank of England’s premises in London, or sent by post (at the sender’s risk).

Filing and paying company tax returns

Posted on 14th July 2022 by Solutions Accountancy

If you have recently setup a new limited company or are thinking of doing so then one of the areas that you need to be aware of is the accounts and tax filing regime for companies.

After the end of its financial year, a private limited company must prepare full annual accounts and a company tax return. In most cases a company’s tax return must be submitted within 12 months from the end of the accounting period it covers. Online Corporation Tax filing is compulsory for company tax returns. Company tax returns must be submitted using either HMRC’s own software or third-party commercial software approved by HMRC and in the required format.

The accounting period for Corporation Tax is normally the same 12 months as the company financial year covered by the annual accounts. There is a separate fixed date for the payment of Corporation Tax which is 9 months and 1 day after the end of the relevant accounting period. This means that a company is usually required to pay any Corporation Tax due in advance of the filing deadline for a company tax return.

A company has a right to amend its company return within 12 months from the statutory filing date. Examples of when a return may be amended include claims for group relief and elections rebasing for capital gains.

There are penalties for late submission of company tax returns. There is a standard penalty of £100 for a late submission of the return within 3 months of the due date and a £200 penalty if the return is over 3 months late. Companies that submit late returns for 3 or more accounting periods in a row are subject to increased penalties. There are further tax based penalties for companies that do not file a return within 18 months of the end of the relevant accounting period and which have not paid the tax due. These penalties can be either 10% or 20% of the unpaid tax depending on the lateness of the filing.