Money-saving tips by a Tax Expert.
Tax Expert is the brainchild of Ilyas Patel, one of the UK’s most well-known entrepreneurial tax advisors. Over the years, his expertise at handling a diverse array of complicated tax issues have benefited countless clients.
Through Tax Expert, he hopes to continue delivering high-quality solutions to clients with a group of experts in Preston with qualifications from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Association of Accounting Technicians AAT. The team has over 40 years of collective experience and strives to resolve clients’ tax issues and help them with money-saving tips.
There are many tax benefits, which quite surprisingly, aren’t taken seriously enough by companies. Remember, the money you save in the long run may often appear to be insignificant from a short-term perspective. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the effort to save any. After all, the money saved is the money you can spend for the benefit of your business in the future. So, without further ado, let’s look at 6 ways how you can do some serious money-saving with our services.
Claim Reaserch and Development Tax Credits
Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits are a tax incentive from the HMRC that encourages investments from companies based in the UK in the field of research and development. In terms of tax relief under this incentive, a company may obtain up to 230% of the investment amount.
If you own a company, you can claim R&D credits without being a part of technical and/or scientific industries. If your company files Corporation Tax, it’s eligible to claim R&D credits. It’ll also be eligible if it has implemented a project with technical constraints, which makes the project’s outcome uncertain. All small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) along with companies that have developed a new or improved process, product, or service are also eligible.
We can help you get the best value from your claim through strategic planning. The best thing is, if you don’t get the claimed amount, there are no fee claims. So, it’s a win-win situation for you, whatever the result.
Help with Inheritance Tax Planning
Planning ahead for Inheritance Tax is something you simply can’t do without. If you continue without a concrete plan, your descendant(s) may be left with a hefty tax bill to pay after your death. However, with proper planning and expert advice from Tax Expert, you can put your Inheritance Tax worries to bed.
Your Inheritance Tax includes almost everything you own such as your residential properties, antique collections, cars, life bonds, life assurance policies, jewellery and investments. £325,000 is the nil rate band, i.e. if the total value of your assets is £325,000 or lower, no Inheritance Tax needs to be paid. However, if the total value of your assets is higher than £325,000, the Inheritance Tax that your descendant(s) would have to pay is a whopping 40%.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways that Inheritance Tax bill can be reduced. Our team may employ one or more techniques to deal with your bill, depending on your situation. Some of Tax Expert’s most effective ways to reduce Inheritance Tax bills include the following:
- Helping you write a will to ensure that your estate passes on the individual(s) you want in a tax-efficient manner.
- Advising you to give away yearly assets and/or cash gifts worth £3,000 without incurring Inheritance Tax.
- Facilitating the optimization of your nil rate band along with your partner’s by smartly transferring ownership of assets.
Claim Back Stamp Duty
Stamp duty tax is levied on certain documents (land transactions, military commissions, cheques, receipts, marriage licenses) and single property purchases. This tax dates back to early 17th-century Venice, Italy, where it was invented. It went on to be introduced in several other European nations such as France, Netherlands, Spain, Prussia, Denmark, and England.
A lot of homeowners in the UK who buy second homes tend to overpay their Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). While the HMRC website offers an SDLT calculator, it doesn’t take into account some variables that affect SDLT due on transactions. To know exactly how much SDLT you are due on a particular transaction, get in touch with Tax Expert and let the team help you find out.
Typically, homeowners having land totaling over half a hectare, commercial or non-residential buildings on the land, flats on the grounds, and/or coming in with any rights over interest in land that do not benefit the dwelling have overpaid on SDLT. Whatever the case is, the team can get to the bottom of it and ensure that you get the SDLT refund that you’re entitled to.
Help with Property Tax
For real estate investors in the UK, property tax can be a major headache. However, if planned well, you can save hundreds and thousands of pounds on your property tax. Property tax planning requires commitment and expertise, which is why it’s best dealt with by a company of tax experts in Preston.
The two main issues in terms of property tax include reduction in interest relief and additional 3% stamp duty on buy-to-let. We has helped countless clients in the past avoid this 3% stamp duty by advising them to secure main residence exemption, purchase of property under adult child’s name, and/or purchase of mixed residential and non-residential use. Additionally, Tax Expert has also advised clients on how to receive full mortgage interest relief at 40% and how to pay no tax on £2,000 and more.
Tax Expert’s professional UK team will also help you in reducing your capital gains tax and your inheritance tax. So, to make sure that you don’t run into any problems on the property tax front, get in touch today and start planning now!
Tax Breaks on Commercial Properties
On average, 9 out of every 10 owners of commercial property are eligible for sizeable tax claims because of unused capital allowances. Capital allowances are a form of tax relief that assist in lowering future tax liabilities and generate tax refunds for 2 previous years.
It’s estimated that in the UK, capital allowance claims worth more than £1 billion remain unclaimed by property owners. The reason for this is simple – most property owners don’t hire tax experts to spot missed unclaimed capital allowances. At Tax Expert, the professionals will identify the claimable items within your commercial property. Some of the most commonly claimed items include fitted furniture, electrical systems, lifts, security systems, ventilation systems, heating systems, and air conditioning. The Tax Expert team will also inform you regarding how much capital allowances you can claim based on your property type.
For example, if you own a furnished holiday let, you’ll be entitled to up to 40% capital allowances associated with the property’s acquisition cost. But if you’re the owner of an industrial unit, you’ll only be entitled up to 30%. The Tax Expert team’s process to identify potential tax breaks on your commercial property adheres to standards laid down by the HMRC, which ensures that your breaks don’t come at a cost.
Start a Family Investment Company
A company that invests in property or equity portfolios instead of trading is known as a family investment company. Setting up an FIC is a complicated process and involves the following steps:
- The individual who provides the capital holds the founder share by way of transfer of assets to the company or a cash loan.
- Family trusts or family members become shareholders after the founder brings them in on creation of the company.
- Shares are issued based on different classes and dictate the dividend payments.
- Redeemable preference shares can also be created to capitalize debt for extracting capital at no cost.
- Control in terms of the investments and payments is maintained generally by the founder shareholder.
- The shareholder agreement and Articles of Association may be drafted to ensure that the shares are protected from sales outside the family.
The transfer of assets mentioned in the first step may be subject to separate tax consequences surrounding Stamp Duty Land Tax and/or capital gains tax. Any tax irregularities in this stage may result in the formation of the FIC being prohibited. This is where Tax Expert can come in and make a difference. By resolving the irregularities that may arise during the formation and/or operation of the FIC, the Tax Expert can deliver not just tax relief, but long-term financial benefits as well.