With increases to the rate of Corporation Tax, companies are now – more than ever – looking for ways to reduce their Corporation Tax liability.
Are you making the most of the tax reliefs and allowances available to your company?
- It might sound obvious but claim all eligible business expenses you regularly incur. Did you know these could include donations of cash, equipment or employee time and expertise to qualifying charities? Many Directors incur expenses on behalf of their business but often forget to claim them (such as a proportion of household expenses for working at home).
- If not claimed elsewhere, can you claim eligible business expenses incurred seven years prior to the date your company trading commenced – even if you incurred these in your personal name; assuming you can demonstrate such costs are reasonable and necessary .
- Claim Capital Allowances when you purchase plant, equipment, machinery and vehicles. There’s a myriad of ways to maximise your Capital Allowance claim depending on the date you incur the expense, the life of the asset bought and your rate of Corporation Tax!
- If your company is investing in science and technology innovative projects, could you claim additional tax relief on qualifying R&D costs as Research and Development Tax Relief or pay a lower rate of Corporation Tax on Patent Box and Creative Industries Tax Relief profit?
- Directors should ensure they are drawing a tax efficient combination of salary (deductible for Corporation Tax purposes) and dividends to make full use of their personal allowance and dividend allowance.
- Companies can also obtain a deduction for pension contributions paid into pension schemes as part of a remuneration package – consider salary sacrifice arrangements to save National Insurance for your company and employee.
- Costs of up to £150 per head for the annual staff party can be tax-free for the employee and tax deductible for the company – Christmas is only weeks away!
- If you have generated a trading loss, can it be carried back (to realise a tax refund to help cashflow) or carried forwards to a future accounting period?
Companies normally have two years from the end of an accounting period to claim tax reliefs – have you made the most of the tax reliefs available?
To help your cashflow, are you eligible to claim the Employment Allowance to reduce your annual National Insurance liability by £5,000? Did you know that you can claim the Employment Allowance for the previous 4 tax years?
The Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme can help you raise finance for your business whilst offering generous tax relief to individual investors.
We can help you and your company keep more of what you earn – call CKLG on 01233 810100 for further help and guidance.
