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March 2016
· Practical implications of the dividend tax allowance
· Personal savings allowance update
· Landlords' replacement wear and tear allowance
· Employee bonus schemes in the spotlight
· March Questions and Answers
· March Key Tax Dates
Practical implications of the dividend tax allowance
The new rules
governing the taxation of dividends are set to take effect in relation to
dividends received after 5 April 2016. The changes include:
- a £5,000
dividend nil rate (also known as the 'dividend tax allowance' (DTA)), which
will effectively tax at the nil rate, the first £5,000 of taxable dividend
income (i.e. after deducting the personal allowance, but treating dividends as
the top slice of income, so the personal allowance is used last against
dividends). Any dividends above the first £5,000 will be taxed as if the £5,000
used up either the basic rate band or the higher rate band;
- dividends
exceeding the dividend nil rate will be taxed at:
- 7.5% in the
basic rate band (the ordinary rate);
- 32.5% in the
higher rate band (the upper rate); and
- 38.1% in the
additional rate band (the additional rate);
- the tax
credit, which currently attaches to dividends paid by UK companies, will be abolished
from 5 April 2016, which means that the dividend paid will no longer be grossed
up by one-tenth when calculating the shareholder's taxable income; and
- dividends will
not be set off by either:
- the personal
savings allowance (PSA) (from 2016/17); or
- the £5,000
savings allowance (from 2015-16),
which are both
used only against savings income (generally interest).
The PSA is
£1,000 for any saver whose highest rate of income tax in the year is the basic
rate (20%), but only £500 for any saver whose highest rate of income tax in the
year is the higher rate (40%). If any of an individual's income is liable to
tax at the higher rate, then the higher rate PSA will apply. The PSA and the
DTA do not reduce total income for tax purposes and still count towards basic
or higher rate bands.
Over recent
years, since the 10% tax credit has covered all their income tax liability,
some basic rate taxpayers have had no assessable income and have therefore had
no reporting obligations to HMRC. However, some dividends received after 5
April 2016 may not be fully covered, e.g. by the personal allowance and DTA, so
taxpayers in this position will now have to notify a liability to pay tax to
HMRC for the first time for 2016-17. There has been speculation within the tax
and accountancy professions that this change can be regarded as a new form of
'stealth' tax.
It is also worth
noting that the withdrawal of the tax credit for dividends may create a
liability to pay the income tax relating to donations under the Gift Aid
Scheme. There is no income tax liability on dividends taxed at the nil rate, so
such dividends cannot frank the income tax on a Gift Aid donation made after 5
April 2016.
Assuming the
provisions in the Finance Bill 2016 are enacted, practitioners should advise
certain clients promptly, so they can plan to transfer shareholdings if
appropriate, and, where possible, time dividends to best effect.
Personal savings
allowance update
From 6 April
2016, the personal savings allowance (PSA) will allow basic rate taxpayers to
receive up to £1,000 of savings income tax-free. For higher rate taxpayers,
this limit will be £500. HMRC have published guidance setting out details of
what counts as savings income and how the allowance will be calculated, including
some useful examples.
Savings income
includes account interest from:
- bank and
building society accounts;
- accounts with
providers like credit unions or National Savings and Investments.
It also
includes:
- interest
distributions (but not dividend distributions) from authorised unit trusts,
open-ended investment companies and investment trusts;
- income from
government or company bonds; and
- most types of
purchased life annuity payments.
Interest from
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) does not count towards the PSA as it is
already tax-free.
For further
information on the PSA, see the GOV.UK website.
Landlords'
replacement wear and tear allowance
Capital
allowances are not available for expenditure on furniture and furnishings for
use in dwelling houses. However, until 5 April 2016 (1 April 2016 for
corporation tax) a deduction for wear and tear may be claimed (known as a 'wear
and tear allowance election'), equal to 10% of the 'net rents' from furnished
lettings (ie after deducting payments that would normally be borne by the
tenant, such as water rates). In addition, a deduction may be claimed for
replacing fixtures that are an integral part of a building (eg central heating
systems), but excluding additional expenditure on 'improved' versions of those
items. However, replacing single glazed windows with double glazed units is
treated as allowable repairs and not disallowable improvements.
Many flats are
let unfurnished due to the difficulties of complying with fire safety
legislation.
In relation to
expenditure incurred on or after 1 April 2016 (for corporation tax) and 6 April
2016 (for income tax), the former wear and tear allowance for fully furnished
properties will be replaced with a relief enabling all landlords of residential
dwelling houses to deduct the costs they actually incur on replacing
furnishings, appliances and kitchenware in the property.
The new relief
given will be for the cost of a like-for-like, or nearest modern equivalent,
replacement asset, plus any costs incurred in disposing of, or less any
proceeds received for, the asset being replaced.
The amount of
the deduction is:
- the cost of
the new replacement item, limited to the cost of an equivalent item if it represents
an improvement on the old item (beyond the reasonable modern equivalent); plus
- the incidental
costs of disposing of the old item or acquiring the replacement; less
- any amounts
received on disposal of the old item.
This deduction
will not be available for furnished holiday lettings as capital allowances
continue to be available for them.
Note also that
the renewals allowance for tools (under ITTOIA 2005, s 68) will no longer be
available for property businesses from the same date.
Employee bonus
schemes in the spotlight
HMRC have
recently published the latest addition to their tax avoidance guidance series,
entitled Employee Bonus Schemes: Growth Securities Ownership Plan and other
avoidance schemes based on contracts for difference (Spotlight 28). The
Spotlight guidance confirms that, in HMRC's opinion, growth securities
ownership plan schemes do not work and any payment made by an employer to an
employee on the maturity of the contract for difference should be taxed as
employment income and subject to PAYE income tax and National Insurance
contributions (NICs).
Broadly, under
this type of arrangement, each employee acquires a contract for difference
which entitles the employee to receive a cash payment at a pre-determined date
provided a pre-determined hurdle is achieved (often referred to as the
'upside'). A feature of these avoidance schemes is that on entering the scheme,
the employee usually agrees to reimburse the employer for the tax and NIC that
HMRC recover from the employer.
HMRC have
confirmed that any employer who has used a contract for difference scheme and
wishes to avoid litigation can pay the outstanding tax and employer and
employee NIC together with the interest which has arisen upon it.
For further
information, see Spotlight 28 at here.
March Questions
and Answers
Q. What are the
implications of selling my Scottish home? I own and live in a property in
Scotland. What are the implications of me selling the house to a relative, who will
buy it using a buy-to-let mortgage, and allow me to stay in it and pay rent to
her as a tenant?
A. If the house
has always been your main residence, there should be no capital gains tax
implications for you. Depending on the purchase price, your relative may have
to pay the Scottish land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT), which replaced
the previous stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in Scotland from April 2015. With
regards to the new lease allowing you to remain in the property as a tenant,
there may be relief from LBTT under the sale and leaseback provisions. For
further information on LBTT, see the Revenue Scotland website at here. And of
course, your relative will have to declare and pay tax if applicable, on any
rental income she receives from you.
Q. Should we
register for VAT to reclaim input tax on the costs of conversion? My brother
owns a commercial business unit, and we have decided to convert it into
residential units. Although I will be project managing the conversion, I will
not be charging my brother. As you can imagine, there will be a lot of
expenditure on building materials, which are subject to VAT and potentially
contractors who are VAT registered. Will it be advantageous to set up a
VAT-registered business for the development so that we can claim back the VAT
incurred?
A. Broadly,
where an individual converts non-residential property into residential property
they can zero rate the sale of the completed residential units. Where this is
the case, it will be worthwhile registering for VAT as much of the input VAT
incurred can be reclaimed. However, there are many rules and conditions that
can apply in such circumstances. VAT Notice 708: buildings and construction
should provide a useful reference tool. I would recommend that you read it in
detail as it will help you satisfy yourself as to the correct liability of the
supplies of goods and services being made by suppliers and contractors to you.
The Notice can be found on the GOV.UK website at here.
Q. Is
inheritance tax due on a gift? I have an elderly friend who has said he would
like to give me a gift of £10,000 to help with my planned kitchen extension.
Will there be any tax to pay on this very generous gift?
A If you make a
gift during your lifetime, there will not usually be any inheritance tax (IHT)
to pay. Lifetime gifts are usually treated as potentially exempt transfers
(PETs) and will only become chargeable to IHT if you die within seven years of
making the gift.
However, if you
make a gift to a company or to some types of trust, the gift is immediately
chargeable and you may have to pay some tax in your lifetime - if the total
value of those gifts exceeds the IHT threshold (currently £325,000).
Any money you
give away during your lifetime that doesn't fall under the exempt transfer
rules may escape IHT as a potentially exempt transfer (PET). There are no
limits on the amount of PETs you can make during your lifetime. Basically, for
a PET to escape IHT completely you need to make sure that you survive for seven
years after making the gift.
If you die
within the seven year period, the PET will be partially chargeable depending on
the number of years that have elapsed. The reduction is given in the form of
taper relief. This is a sliding scale used to determine tax liabilities on
gifts between three and seven years before death. The rates of taper relief are
as follows:
- Between 0 to 3
years, the reduction is 0% and the actual tax rate is 40%
- 3 to 4 years,
the reduction is 20% and the actual tax rate is 32%
- 4 to 5 years,
the reduction is 40% and the actual tax rate is 24%
- 5 to 6 years,
the reduction is 60% and the actual tax rate is 16%
- 6 to 7 years,
the reduction is 80% and the actual tax rate is 8%
- More than 7
years, the reduction is 0% and the actual tax rate is 0%
Taper relief is
only of real benefit if you can also fully use the nil rate band for other
transfers. Taper amounts are set against the free slice first.
If you give
£100,000 away during your lifetime and die four years later, leaving a further
£350,000 in your will, the first £100,000 lifetime gift counts against your nil
rate band first. So your estate will only have £225,000 (in 2015/16) left in
nil rate band to set off against the remaining £350,000. This means that your
executors will end up paying as much tax as if you had not made the gift at
all.
Taper relief is
worthwhile for those with large estates. Giving away £1 million and living for
seven years takes the money right out of the IHT net. But if you only live for
six years, the £1 million less the nil rate band is charged at only 8% tax
instead of 40%. Obviously, anything that is transferred at death will be
chargeable at the full 40% rate as the nil rate band will have been used up.
Many people use
special life insurance policies to make sure that a potential liability to IHT
is covered if they don't live for the full seven years after making a PET.
These types of policy are designed to fit in with the tax taper. The proceeds
are usually written into trust so they are outside your estate when you die.
March Key Tax
Dates
19/22 -
PAYE/NIC, student loan and CIS deductions due for month to 5/3/2016
31 - Last minute
tax planning for the 2015/16 tax year. Ensure you use up all exemptions to
which you are entitled
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