Most businesses don’t like paying tax, but see it as a necessary evil.
However what if I said that there are legitimate ways where you pay not tax
on your profit and you can take it out of your business completely tax
free!! Sounds amazing?, or does it sound dodgy? Well it is possible and HM
Revenue and Customs even know the schemes exist, but at the minute they
can’t stop it as it is completely legal. The only stumbling block to you
earning income tax free is, your pre tax profits need to be a minimum of
£500k. As an example from a pre tax profit of £1m you could have in your
personal bank account and out of the company £890k, after all fees have
been paid.

This is a massive saving on the associated taxes normally involved in making
a £1m profit and extracting it from your company. As an additional benefit
the money extracted is also completely free of inheritance tax should you
unfortunately die.

We also offer similar schemes to avoid capital gains tax and inheritance tax
completely. There are similar limits on using the scheme, your capital gain
should be a minimum of £500k, and for IHT your net estate needs to be a minimum
of £1m. If you think you may qualify and would like a free no obligation chat
please contact me by email Robert@lmlandco.com.

March is generally a slow month for me accounts wise, as December accounts
are done and March year end are not quite ready. The benefit is I get some
time to do my own admin and give some time to planning for future strategy.

At the start of the year I joined a networking group in Sheffield called The
Fruit Tree. As part of the fortnightly meeting we have a learning section,
where an expert will coach us on a particular topic. Recently we have been
looking at identifying our best type of customer. At the time I focused on
the specific type and size of business that generated me the most profit.
Subsequently I have given this more thought and although making a profit is
imperative to pay wages, bills, live and stuff, from a purely lifestyle
view, my best customers are the ones who actually appreciate the service my
staff and I provide.

If you appreciate a good service and would like a free chat please get in
touch, Robert@lmlandco.com or @lmlandco. Also please let me know who your
best type of customer is @lmlandco.

With the tax year end coming to a close on the 5 April my March newsletter
(http://www.lmlandco.com/tax-hints-tips/) gives some great advice about
simple planning to maximise your tax reliefs and minimise your tax payable
before the end of the tax year. Unfortunately this means there is no need to
elaborate further in this blog. Based on some advice I have given in the
last week, one of the questions that crops up regularly from clients is,
what is the best way to buy a business asset?

With most business assets the two options are either to buy or to lease.
Buying can then be split into outright for cash, or some form of hire
purchase. If you are sat on a big wad of cash and you don’t need it in the
foreseeable future for working capital then cash purchase is always the
cheapest option, as there are no costs of finance. When it comes to
operating lease or HP there is a common misconception that one type receives
better tax relief than the other. The reality is over the assets useful life
the tax relief available on an identical costing HP or lease will be exactly
the same, although generally HP will generate tax relief earlier in the
assets life. Therefore in any lease/HP decision it is the actual costs
involved that should be the overriding factor and not the tax relief
available.

For me, the main benefit of a lease is you know exactly how much the asset
is going to cost over the period of use, where as with HP you are slightly
gambling on the residual value of the asset. The main benefit of HP is that
once it is paid for it is the businesses asset for as long as it is
required.

Therefore when you next come to buy a business asset get some prices and
calculate the total cost involved with all options before you decide which
is best, and remember that the most expensive option will generally get you
the most tax relief but this is not then the best option!

If you have found this useful or want any free advice please feel free to
email me Robert@lmlandco.com.

Robert

So, if you are a growing or established business and you think you will make
an ideal client, please get in touch to see if we want to act for you!! Feel
free to browse my website, check out the staff and view the client
testimonials.

Robert

As owner manager of a service company I appreciate many business people who are in the position that if you don’t work you don’t earn. One big issue for many owner managers is the provision of childcare. This issue increases at holiday times such as Christmas, Easter, summer holidays etc. I am sure many of you will be aware of employer supported childcare vouchers. If you are a director of a limited company then this legislation can apply to you. What many people don’t know is the type of childcare that can qualify for this tax free cash. The maximum tax free per week is £55, and this can be saved up and used when childcare is required, ie. Christmas, 6 week holidays etc..Along with the registered childminders it can also be claimed against costs of outer school activities such as football training, music lessons etc. subject to the qualifying conditions being met. The £55 per week does not count as income for tax credit purposes and could save you £572 per year in tax.

If you need any more information on this please ask, or shove it under the nose of your own accountant (although I would rather you ask me ☺). At the end of the day everyone likes something for nothing, and I am about to download some free songs courtesy of Becks.com. Hopefully by the end of tonight I should have 20 or 30 free tracks!! Feel free to leave a comment if you found this useful.

Over the last couple of weeks I have read various blogs online to see what people write about. I have searched for accountancy
blogs, which in the main I thought where poor, and offered little useful information, and I have read other business related blogs which range from average to quite good. The best ones seem to combine professional and social life seamlessly, unfortunately
on reflection I have a relatively non-existent social life, and everything I do seems to revolve around my business.

So this being the first of what I hope will be many posts and an increase in my social life as we approach Christmas, together with
the challenge of ensuring all self assessment tax returns are completed by the 31 January (currently just over 150 still to do) I hope to think of something interesting to say relatively frequently over the next couple of months.

My first Christmas party is tonight (and yes I know it is still November) at the Carlton Park Hotel in Rotherham, and I hope I will not be too hung over tomorrow to do something useful.

As a note for people who have not yet completed their 2011 self assessment tax return this is the first year that late filing
penalties apply even if no tax is due, so make sure they are submitted by the 31 January 12.