Budget 2011, Tax Summary

This article aims to summarise the main tax measures of yesterdays Budget however it is not intended to be comprehensive.

 

Individuals

 

Personal Allowances
These allowances represent the amount of an individual's income in the tax year that is not subject to income tax. Some people are eligible for several allowances such as the personal allowance, and married couples allowance. The married couples allowance is available to married persons and civil partners, but only where at least one person of the couple was born before 6 April 1935.

The personal allowance for 2011/12 will increase by £1,000 to £7,475, but the 40% tax threshold will reduce to £35,000 (see below). This ensures that higher and additional rate taxpayers do not benefit from the increased personal allowance in this year. From 6 April 2012 the personal allowance will be increased again by £630 to £8,105, and in that year the 40% threshold will be reduced further to £34,370.

Personal allowances are withdrawn at certain income thresholds, indicated below, and cannot be claimed by non-domiciled individuals who elect to have their foreign income and gains taxed on the remittance basis for the tax year.

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Traps with the Flat Rate VAT Scheme

The VAT flat rate scheme for small businesses is generally straight-forward to operate, but here are a few traps to watch out for.

Use the right rate
You will be aware that the standard rate of VAT increased to 20% on 4 January 2011. The flat rates used by traders in the flat rate scheme to calculate the VAT to pay to HMRC also changed from that date. Did you remember to apply the new rate for your business sector? Check whether you applied the correct flat rate from 1 January 2010 to 3 January 2011 when the standard rate of VAT was 17.5%, and from 1 December 2008 to 31 December 2009 when the standard rate was 15%.

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Leaving it to Charity

If you haven't made a Will, you should do so without delay. If you don't have any relatives you want to leave your estate to, consider making a Will that leaves most of your assets to specified charities. This avoids the potential problem of intestacy (dying without a Will), and saves tax as gifts to charities are free of inheritance tax. However, there are two traps to avoid:

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Taxation Editor

I am pleased to announce that I have accepted the role as Tax Editor on totalinvestor.co.uk.  I am honoured to have been chosen for this position.

Total Investor is a multi disciplinary information website for both consumers and professionals.  It is growing rapidly with the total number of unique visitors to Total Investor rising by 350% during the last quarter.  Total registered individual professional membership rose from 8,129 to 8,528.  The total number of average daily professional searches rose from 229 to 294, annualising at 107,310 profile searches, up 28%.

However my heart remains firmly in accountancy practice and as Total Investor will only take a fraction of my time, my practice work will remain unaffected. To review the type of work that Harries Watkins Jones undertakes, please visit Accountants Bridgend.

March's Tax Question & Answers

Q. I've been told I will have to pay all my business taxes online very soon. How can I do this if I don't have internet banking?

A. It will be compulsory to pay corporation tax electronically from 1 April 2011, and to pay all VAT due electronically from 2012. However, there are no plans to make all PAYE or CIS payments electronic, yet. Electronic payments include direct debits, debit and credit card payments. You don't have to have internet banking, you can set up electronic payments with your bank by using telephone banking.

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