Many of our legal colleagues have been burning the midnight oil over the Easter holidays, frantically completing purchases of buy-to-let residential properties and second homes before the three percentage points increases in SDLT apply from 1 April 2016.
Shades of the 31 January deadline accountants face each year…
As there are less than seven days before the formal end of the 2015-16 tax year, what should accountants be completing?
Certainly, we should have reviewed all our limited company clients to ensure that shareholder director basic rate bands and free reserves have been matched, and where appropriate, voted as dividends for 2015-16. This ensures that companies take advantage of the 2015-16 rules that allow dividends to be taken with no additional income tax charge as long as they sit within the basic rate band.
What else?
Practitioners need to think hard about the numerous changes to taxation of individuals that commence April 2016. The increases in the taxation of dividends are the tip of the iceberg. We need to step back and consider not only the impact on spending power, but also, whether the changes should require an in depth review of the fundamentals: business structure – the incorporated v sole trader debate.
Change is always a challenging process, but it does bring with it opportunity.
Time to dust off those emails and see what CPD opportunities are on offer to bring your tax skills up to date.
If you would like to know more about our InforLearning CPD platform then just let us know.
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