Financial Consultancy, Personal Finance Director, Tax Advice

personal financial consultancy for small businesses & individuals


	Financial Consultancy, Personal Finance Director & Non-Executive Director Services.


	Save tax, improve your cashflow, financial growth & company performance.


	See how Stephen Carter helps small businesses & high net-worth individuals to sort out their finances.

"Stephen has been with us for 15 years and has always been very thorough, in particular in relation to taxation advice. His computer skills have also been very useful to AJW over the years. We would have no hesitation in recommending his services to anyone."

[AJW Aviation]

Unbelievable, but true!
With the replacement of the good old-fashioned diary with Outlook or other programs, how do you know when Easter is? You won't believe it, but you can calculate it!
Bet with your friends & make money!

Tax Tips

10 simple ways to save your business tax

These tax tips are provided free to anyone, on the basis that all advice is given without liability to Stephen Carter!

	Review your accounting policies

	Stock write downs and specific bad debt provisions are 100% allowable for tax, within reason! Depreciation rates make no difference - the tax man has his own rates!

	Know the effect of expenditure

	Some payments are 100% allowable for Corporation Tax, some partly, others not at all. Here is a rough guide:

	Cars - only £3,000 per annum allowable until you sell, then the rest of the capital loss is allowed. This applies to cars bought on HP (interest element on repayments allowed). Leasing - all payments allowable.

	Legal Fees - abortive business acquisition - not allowable at all! Leases - okay if less than 50 years.

	Parties - the taxman allows an amount per head for staff parties and he doesn't restrict it to Christmas!

	IT Equipment - 100% allowed in first year for smaller companies.

	Other Plant Equipment - smaller companies get 40% initial alowance, then 25% of residual balance.

	Timing

	Crystalise losses on company cars in time for year-end, rather than changing them early in the next year. Same goes for IT replacement and other specialist purchases.

	Review your corporate structure

	Small company corporation tax rates are reduced by the number of companies in a group. Simplifying the structure is often easier than trying to equalise taxable profits.

	Company cars

	Are they worth it? A complex question but ultimately which alternative gives the taxman the least benefit?

	Stephen Carter has developed a spreadsheet that looks at the Corporation Tax, Personal Tax and National Insurance effects of this.

	High business mileage and low private mileage make a change away from company cars more beneficial. Contact Stephen Carter for more details.

	A Porsche 911 for a fifth of the cost of a Skoda?

	In 1969 a Porche 911 cost around £3,000. Provided it's not worth over £12,500 (Stephen paid £12,000 for his!), then you pay tax on 22% of the original cost = £660.

	A new Skoda Octavia 1.8 turbo costs £15,000 - 192 CO2 gives a benefit of 22% = £3,300 - 5 times as much!

	Okay, you may not want a Skoda, but in general buying a classic on the company (all maintenance costs are 100% allowable for tax) and owning a newer car personally (you can claim 40p per mile tax free for the first 10,000 business miles each year) can make real savings!

	VAT on car mileage

	VAT on mileage is often overlooked. Some (not all) mileage is allowable for VAT. If the care is company owned, your employee can either reclaim petrol bills (business trips only) or you can pay mileage of 9p to 14p (depending on engine size). Mileage is easier to justify to the VAT man, who otherwise will want you to prove there is no private element. All mileage paid this way is allowable for VAT (7/47th)

	If employees claim mileage for company use of their private cars, then although the Inland Revenue allow up to 40p per mile, unbelievably VAT on only 9p to 14p is recoverable - no maintenance element is allowable.

	If you give private petrol to company car drivers, then this does not affect you, but review your policy for people who live near work or who do a high business mileage, since tax and NI are significant!

	National Insurance

	Now that the Chancellor has started charging employees on their total income (1% now, but for how long?), benefits in kind are once again worth looking at.

	Employees pay 12.8% Class A (the same as salary) at the end of the year, but employees pay nothing.

	Rent yourself an office at home

	Make up for all the hours put in at the weekend! It's tax free up to £4,250 and 100% allowable in the company's books.

	Utilise your children's allowances

	Even children get allowances! Single person's allowance and lower tax rates apply, but beware - if you give them money, the income from it is treated as yours for tax.

	Gifts from their Grandparents are okay. You can put up to £300 into a stakeholder pension for them, even if they have no earnings.

	You pay £234 and the Chancellor pays the rest!

Copyright © 2005-2007 Stephen Carter / SBC100. All rights reserved. Stephen Carter's services are provided by Phoenix Hire Limited.
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