Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13)

Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13) provides answers to your everyday tax questions, and reveals the latest ways to avoid tax and shares tax-saving insider tips on how you could pay less tax this financial year.

Revised and updated in line with the 2012 Budget for this new 13th edition.

With the emphasis on tax self-assessment, we are all expected to become overnight tax experts and tax-specialist accountants. How else can you keep a track of the vast array of taxes that are levied each year by the government? And, if you can't keep track of them, how will you pay less tax this year? Or remember to declare them?

Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13) can help. Every financial year our team of tax-saving experts at H M Williams Chartered Accountants, present in bite-size question-and-answer format, this indispensable tax guide with quick, digestible answers to practically all your everyday tax questions.

Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13) homes in on relevant tax questions, giving answers at a glance, rather than giving all the unnecessary background information which most taxpayers don't want or need. It includes 'dos and don'ts' and tax-saving tips from the "pay less tax" experts that may help you save money when it comes to tax planning and investments.

Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13) covers the following topics: 

• Income tax
• VAT
• Capital gains tax
• Inheritance tax
• Tax and pensions
• Self-employment
• Business partnerships
• Land and property tax
• Trusts and estates
• Corporation tax
• Stamp duty 
• And much, more.... 

It also includes tax return templates to help you prepare your tax return.

Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13) will answer all your tax questions for this financial year... quickly. 

"I have recently discovered your book and only wish that I had known about it earlier. It is one of the most useful common sense tax books that I have seen."
KB, West Sussex

About the Authors

Authors Ashley Smith, Tim Smith, Iain Watson and Hugh Williams are all accountants at HM Williams Chartered Accountants and have been winners of the prestigious Butterworth Tolley Best Tax Team Award. The firm has also been awarded the coveted Daily Telegraph/Energis Customer Service Award in the Professional and Business Services, Small Organisation category. In 2007, it won the 2020 award for the most innovative medium-sized UK accountancy practice.

Other Tax-Saving Guides from Lawpack:

• 101 Ways to Pay Less Tax
• How to Avoid Landlord Taxes
• 127 Landlord Tax Questions Answered

Tax Answers at a Glance (2012/13): Contents

Tax in general 

• What are the different taxes that we have to pay?
• When are the tax rates changed? 
• What is the Income Tax year? 
• What are business rates and Council Tax, and how is that money spent? 
• What is HM Revenue & Customs and what is the Treasury? 
• Tax and civil partners 
• What tax do I pay when I buy a motor car? 
• What tax do I pay when I buy fuel? 

Income Tax

• What is Income Tax and what do we pay it on?
• What is an annual Income Tax Return? 
• How do I know if I have to fill out a Tax Return and how do I get hold of one? 
• What are Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits? 
• What are pension credits? 
• How do I work out how much tax I have to pay and when to pay it?
• What if my tax payments are late? 
• What happens if I fail to complete a Tax Return on time? 
• What can I set against my taxable income? 
• What is the difference between earned and unearned income? 
• What are the rates of Income Tax? 
• What are the personal reliefs and allowances? 
• What tax relief can I claim against my payments of interest? 
• Can I get tax relief on my mortgage interest? 
• Is there a right time to get married for Income Tax purposes? 
• Is there a right time to get divorced or separated for Income Tax purposes? 
• What happens to someone’s Income Tax affairs when they die? 
• What should one do about the income of children and Income Tax? 
• What are the most sensible sorts of investment for children for tax purposes?
• What are the rules for charitable giving and Income Tax?
• What is ‘Payroll Giving’?
• How do I reclaim overpaid tax?
• What are the rules regarding pre-owned assets?
• What might be the effect on my Council Tax banding if I work from home and use my home as an office? 

National Insurance 

• What is National Insurance? 
• What are the different classes of National Insurance? 
• What do I get for the money I pay in National Insurance? 
• How are National Insurance contributions paid? 
• How do I find my National Insurance number?
• What happens if I should be paying National Insurance Contributions but fail to do so? 
• What should I do if I’m worried that my National Insurance Contributions are not up to date?
• What is Class 4 National Insurance? 
• What if I have paid too much National Insurance?
• If I am self-employed and have not been paying National Insurance, what are the chances I will get away with it?
• Do employers have to pay National Insurance Contributions on benefits in kind?

Employment and Income Tax 

• What do I do if I employ somebody? 
• Is the person I’m taking on an employee or self-employed? 
• What if I take on someone part-time or casually? 
• What is PAYE? 
• What is a tax code and what is a notice of coding? 
• What if I fail to operate PAYE properly? 
• What records does an employer have to keep? 
• What is the National Minimum Wage? 
• What are Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay?
• What tax-deductible expenses can an employee claim? 
• What are 'fixed deductions'?
• What is the Working Time Directive?
• What about holiday pay?
• What are the rules about directors and tax? 
• What if I provide benefits for my employees? 
• What are Authorised Mileage Allowance Payments?
• What are advisory fuel rates?
• What are the rules for paying tax on motor cars provided by an employer?
• What is the tax on employees’ vans? 
• What are the car benefit charges based on CO2 emissions for 2012/13?
• What are the fuel benefit charges?
• Can I get dispensation for travel and subsistence payments? 
• How do I provide a pension scheme for my employees?
• What are the rules if I provide shares and share options for my employees?
• What are the different schemes for providing shares for employees?
• What National Insurance is payable on employees’ benefits?
• What do employers and employees have to do at the year end? 
• What are the rules for charitable giving through the PAYE system?
• What tax is payable on payments for compensation for loss of office? 
• What are the tax rules if I’m employed outside the UK? 

Pensions and tax

• What is pensions simplification?
• Is it worth paying into a pension scheme? 
• What are SIPPs?
• What sort of state pension can I expect?
• When will I be entitled to my pension? 
• Do I have to draw my pension when I reach pension age? 

Self-employment and partnerships

• Should I tell the taxman if I’m going self-employed or starting a partnership? 
• What is trading?
• How do I calculate my taxable income from trading?
• What expenses can I claim?
• Can I pay myself?
• What is the tax significance of holding trading stock?
• What is the tax significance of work in progress?
• What are debtors and creditors and what do I do about them?
• What are capital allowances?
• What is the Annual Investment Allowance? 
• What are long life assets and what allowances do they get?
• Is there any special tax treatment for farmers?
• Is there any special tax treatment for subcontractors?
• Is there any special tax treatment for owners of mineral rights and royalties?
• How do I get tax relief for losses in my business?
• Are there any special rules about claiming farm losses?
• How many years of farm losses can one utilise before having to carry forward those losses?
• What is Class 4 National Insurance?
• What is a partnership? 
• Should I go into partnership with my spouse? 
• Do I need to have a partnership deed?
• What are limited liability partnerships?
• What happens if partners change?
• How are partnerships taxed?
• How long do I have to keep my accounting records? 
• How might HM Revenue & Customs inquire into my tax affairs?

Income from land and property

• What is the wear-and-tear allowance? 
• How do I claim losses from land and property?
• What is the difference between furnished lettings and furnished holiday lettings? 
• What is rent-a-room relief?
• How are property developers taxed?
• What is the tax wheeze for buy-to-let investors?
• What is the difference between people owning property as joint tenants and as tenants in common? 
• How are lease premiums taxed?
• What are the rules for leases and Stamp Duty?

Income from dividends and interest

• How are dividends taxed and can I claim the tax back?
• How do I pay the tax on interest I receive that is not taxed at source?
• What is the tax position on bank interest?
• What is the tax position on building society interest? 
• What is the tax position on annuities? 
• What are ISAs? 
• What are Venture Capital Trusts? 
• What is the Enterprise Investment Scheme?
• What are REITs?

Life assurance policies

• What do I need to know about the taxation of life assurance? 
• What are chargeable events?
• What are bonds?
• What is ‘top slicing relief’?
• What are ‘partial surrenders’?
• Can I claim tax relief on my permanent health insurance payments?
• What are ‘purchased life annuities’? 

Capital Gains Tax

• What does Capital Gains Tax catch and what does it not catch?
• How does Capital Gains Tax work? 
• What is entrepreneurs’ relief?
• Who pays Capital Gains Tax? 
• Is there an annual exemption from Capital Gains Tax? 
• What can I set against my Capital Gains Tax liability?
• Can I get any relief for capital losses? 
• How and when is Capital Gains Tax paid?
• What are the rules for part-disposals?
• What are the rules for private residences and Capital Gains Tax relief?
• What are the rules for chattels sold for less than £6,000? 
• What Capital Gains Tax relief is there for the sale of business assets?
• What Capital Gains Tax relief is there for gifts? 
• What are the aspects of Capital Gains Tax if I live abroad? 
• Can I sell shares one day, creating enough gains to use up the annual Capital Gains Tax allowance, and buy them back the next day? 

Trusts and estates 

• What is a trust? 
• Do the trustees have to complete a Tax Return and what tax do they pay? 
• How are trusts in Wills affected by tax? 
• What are accumulation and maintenance settlements (A&M trusts)? 
• What are discretionary trusts? 
• How do discretionary trusts pay Inheritance Tax? 
• How do trusts pay Capital Gains Tax? 
• Trust modernisation 

Corporation Tax 

• How is Corporation Tax assessed and paid?
• What is Corporation Tax Self-Assessment?
• How are company profits calculated? 
• What do I have to do about the Corporation Tax Return? 
• What is the rate of Corporation Tax and how does the small company rate of tax work? 
• When is a company trading and how does this affect its tax position?
• Do dormant companies have to pay Corporation Tax?
• What are ‘associated’ and ‘subsidiary’ companies? 
• What is the significance of a ‘close company’?
• What is the difference between a public and a private company?
• What do UK companies with overseas income have to do about it? 
• What are the tax rules about companies buying their own shares? 
• How do I pay myself from my company? 
• What are the tax rules about a company paying dividends? 
• How does a company get relief for its losses? 
• How does group relief for losses work? 
• How does a company pay Capital Gains Tax? 
• Can a director borrow money from his company? 
• Do companies claim capital allowances in the same way as sole traders and partnerships? 
• Can loss-making companies claim cash back in lieu of their capital allowances? 
• At what level of profits should I incorporate my business? 
• What are Personal Service Companies and how are they taxed (IR35)? 

Non-residence,working overseas, etc. 

• What is the significance of my tax domicile and tax residence? 
• What income is taxable and where? 
• What is ‘double taxation relief’? 
• How do I change my tax residence? 
• When does someone who goes abroad become non-UK tax resident? 
• What tax do I pay on foreign income? 
• What tax do I pay on foreign pensions? 
• What is the tax position on professions conducted partly abroad? 
• What tax do I pay on earnings from overseas employment?
• What allowances can non-UK tax residents claim? 
• If I go abroad, do I have to pay tax on the rent I receive from letting out my home while I am away? 
• Can I go abroad to avoid Capital Gains Tax? 
• What should I do if I have just arrived in the UK to take up work here? 
• If I have just arrived in the UK, will the rest of my overseas income be taxed? 
• Should I put my money in an offshore trust? 

Inheritance Tax 

• How and when is Inheritance Tax paid? 
• How should I approach the subject of Inheritance Tax? 
• Should I make a Will? 
• How do I choose my executors? 
• The new nil-rate band rules 
• How can I reduce Inheritance Tax? 
• What are periodic charges? 
• What is ‘quick succession relief’? 
• How will assets be valued? 
• Help, I’ve done nothing about Inheritance Tax. What are the first few essential golden rules that I should follow? 
• What is a Gift with Reservation of Benefit? 

VAT 

• What records do I need to keep if my business is VAT-registered? 
• How do I complete my VAT Return? 
• Can you tell me about VAT online? 
• What is the Fuel Scale Charge? 
• What is Annual Accounting for VAT? 
• What is Cash Accounting for VAT? 
• What is the optional flat rate VAT scheme for small traders and is it worth joining? 
• When can I de-register? 

Stamp Duty 

• When and how is Stamp Duty paid? 
• What is Stamp Duty Land Tax? 

Other tax issues

• Tax-planning dos and don'ts
• Tax-saving tips
• Notable tax dates
• What is the difference between tax ‘avoidance’ and tax ‘evasion’?
• How should I deal with the Tax Office?
• Should I use an accountant?
• How should I handle tax investigations?
• How do I appeal against a tax demand if I think it’s too high?
• What support is there for businesses struggling to pay their tax on time because of the recession? 
• What electronic services does HMRC offer?