June Questions and Answers

Newsletter issue - June 2014

Q. My father resigned as a director of our family business in March, and started to draw his pension, but he retained 15% of the shares in the company. It seems likely that company will be sold later this year. Will my father get entrepreneurs' relief on any the gain he makes on his shares?

A. Unfortunately not. To qualify for entrepreneurs' relief the shareholder must be an employee or officer (director or company secretary) for the full 12 months that ends with the sale of the shares, or the date the company ceases to trade. If you reappoint your father as a director (he doesn't have to get paid for that role) and then wait for 12 months before the sale, he should qualify for entrepreneurs' relief.

Q. I have just received my renewal pack for claiming working tax credits, but the income figure for 2013/14 doesn't agree with my P60 form and payslips from my employer - by a wide margin. What's gone wrong, and what should I do?

A. The difference between the figures could be due to any of the following;

  • Where you have more than one source of income (perhaps a redundancy payment from a previous employment) your tax credits renewal notice will show the total from all the sources that you received income from in 2013/14.
  • Your pay shown on the P60 may have been corrected at a late stage after the Tax Credits Office extracted the figures used for the renewal notice.
  • Your income counted for tax credits includes the value of certain benefits in kind such as the provision of a company car, which isn't included in the amounts reported on the form P60 or on payslips. The value of those benefits will be reported on a form P11D which you should receive by 6 July.

If you believe the tax credits income figure for 2013/14 is wrong ring the number given in the renewal pack and report the correct figure.

Q. I run a small independent chemist which has three employees. I was told that my business would not qualify for the employment allowance as a good deal of our work involves dispensing NHS prescriptions. Is that true?

A. The initial guidance from HMRC appeared to indicate that pharmacies would not qualify for the employment allowance, which is worth up to £2000 per year. However, revised guidance from HMRC confirms that independent pharmacies that are conducting a business, including over the counter sales as well as dispensing NHS prescriptions, are entitled to claim the employment allowance.

What our clients say about us...

  • "Paul has provided accountancy services to my company for 2 years now. I can recommend Paul very highly; his skills as an accountant are highly detailed and professional and he is always available to provide advice. One aspect of the way Paul works that I greatly appreciate is a preference to meet face to face when there is a detailed conversation to be had. I personally find this more productive and is a benefit of working with a small accountancy firm that you wouldn't get with the large faceless providers."

    ALISTAIR FAIRWEATHER - PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGER, DELIVERING/RESCUING I.T. 7 BUSINESS CHANGE WITH BUDGETS UPTO £50M INC SUPPIER MANAGEMENT

  • "I couldn't ask for more from Paul as an Accountant. Paul has been accountant to Work Relief Charity Recruitment for just over a year now and is proving an invaluable asset. Accurate, knowledgeable, flexible with an emphasis on service delivery, I would recommend Paul's services to any organisation looking for an accounts professional."

    Neil Price - Managing Director at Work Relief Charity Recruitment

  • "Paul was a referral from a family member when I started my business 2 years ago. As this was the first time I had ever run my own company I was totally clueless over the financial side of matters and was worried that I may have made mistakes in any of my accounting. I needn't have worried as after enaging Paul for a set monthly fee he was always there on the end of the phone for all sorts of questions I had and no matter how trivial they were Paul gave me all the information I required and more and did an excellent and painless job at the end of my first year! Couldn't ask for any better to be honest. Just two words - hire him!!!"

    Lee Westrap MBCS - Director - Bulldog IT Services

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Booth & Co  |   The Hermitage  |   15a Shenfield Road  |   Brentwood  |   Essex  |   CM15 8AG        Telephone: 01277 224666    |   Email: info@boothandco.co.uk