End of tax year considerations

We are nearing the end of the tax year on 5th April 2014 and here are some things for you to consider:

– Last chance to use your 2013/2014 ISA allowance

– From 6th April 2014 all businesses will have a £2,000 allowance to set against their Employer’s National Insurance. Directors of companies who can’t make use of all their allowance, for example if they have only a few staff, may want to change their salary/dividend mix so that they can utilise more of the allowance and pay themselves tax efficient salaries.

– The employee related loans tax exempt threshold is increasing from £5,000 to £10,000 so directors who borrow money from their company during the financial year will not have to consider a personal tax bill when the amount borrowed is less than this threshold.

– When you sell your home, and there have been periods when you haven’t lived at the property, capital gains tax may be due on some of the gain. One of the rules that reduces your taxable gain is that the last 36 months of ownership are exempt, but as this period is reducing to 18 months from 6th April 2014 then careful planning will be required when you sell.

Happy New Financial Year!