CK : National insurance

Resources
CK Briefings
2017
Spring
Tax Planning

For a family business it is generally worthwhile paying wages to a spouse of between the employee lower earnings limit (£112) and the employee threshold (£155) per week. At this level of earnings no NIC will be due. The spouse will still accrue entitlement to a state pension and certain other state benefits.

Tip

A PAYE scheme would be needed to record the employee’s entitlement to benefits and the wages.

Tax Planning

Capital allowances

Currently the AIA gives a 100% write off on most types of plant and machinery costs, but not cars, of up to £200,000 per annum from 1 January 2016.

Capital gains

Significant changes have been made to the rates of capital gains tax (CGT) in 2016/17:

Changes to the tax system

Fundamental changes to the tax system to take account of this tax year.

Disclaimer

This publication is published for the information of clients. It provides only an overview of the regulations in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed legislation or seeking professional advice.

Family companies

If the payment of bonuses to directors or dividends to shareholders is under consideration, give careful thought as to whether payment should be made before or after the end of the tax year.

Giving to charity

Charitable donations made under the Gift Aid scheme allow a charity to claim back 20% basic rate tax on any donations and if the donor is a higher rate taxpayer they can claim back the tax difference between the higher rate and the basic rate on the donation.

Investments - are yours tax efficient?

There are a wide range of investments available and we consider some of the main ones with special tax rules.

Landlords and interest relief restrictions

From April 2017, landlords will no longer be able to deduct all of their finance costs from their property income.

National insurance

For a family business it is generally worthwhile paying wages to a spouse of between the employee lower earnings limit (£112) and the employee threshold (£155) per week.

Pension contributions

There are many opportunities for pension planning but the rules are complicated and there have been significant changes recently so do check the position before making any decisions.