Monthly Archives: February 2017

Tax free pensions advice

People planning their retirement will be able to withdraw up to £1,500 from their pension pots tax-free to pay for financial advice, under recent plans unveiled by the government.   The new Pension Advice Allowance, first announced at Autumn Statement 2016, will enable people to withdraw £500 up to three occasions from their pension pots […]

Lifetime ISAs

A reminder that from 6 April 2017 Lifetime ISAs are available as an alternative tax-free investment. The lifetime Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a longer term tax-free account that receives a government bonus. Details published 17 February 2017 are: You can open a lifetime ISA if you are aged 18 or over but under 40. […]

All is fair, unless you expect HMRC to minimise your tax bill

Although HMRC refer to taxpayers as customers, and thereby suggest a degree of customer service, in the real world this rarely extends to offering “customers” pro-active tax advice. Historically, tax collectors are trained to maximise the assessment and collection of tax. Consequently, tax payers should be wary, they should check the tax statements that are […]

Wholly and exclusively

The title of this posting describes an important concept when considering claims for expenditure to reduce our tax bills. By and large, HMRC will accept claims that have been expended wholly and exclusively for the purposes of running a business or fulfilling your employment obligations. But what does this phrase actually mean? Certainly, if you […]

Beware internet phishers

The end of January, self-assessment filing deadline, and the approaching tax year end seem to stimulate fraudulent activity focussing on tax issues. In particular, increasingly convincing attempts are made to get tax payers to part with their personal bank details or other personal information for nefarious purposes. HMRC will never ask for your personal details, […]