Q. I want to close down my consultancy company and pay the funds it holds to me as the only shareholder. Should I wait until the new tax year or start the process now?A. If permission is granted from the Taxman in advance (called a C16 clearance), the funds the company distributes to the shareholders during the winding-up process will be trea...

Tax rates and thresholds for 2012/13 have been announced as follows: Income Tax Personal Allowances Under 65: £8,105 65-75: £10,500 75 and over: £10,660 Minimum marriage allowance: £2,960 Maximum marriage allowance: £7,705 Blind person's allowance: £2,100 Income limit for those aged 65 or more: £25,400 Inco...

The Taxman has formed a number of task forces to investigate certain business sectors, where he believes tax rules are being ignored. A summary of the current work of those task forces is listed below, but bear in mind that each task force will move on to a new geographical area once the first area has been investigated. London Properties This...

Are you already filing your VAT returns online? If not, then you need to prepare to switch to online filing as this will be compulsory for all VAT registered businesses from 1 April 2012. Don't leave this task until the last minute as it can take a few weeks to receive the unique user ID you need from the Tax Office. You will also have to crea...

The Taxman is asking all employers to spring-clean their payroll data to prepare for RTI. What does RTI stand for? It stands for Real Time Information, and within the next 18 months it will become as familiar to you as PAYE. RTI is a new way of submitting payroll data to the Tax Office. Instead of sending the PAYE information in annually after...