Landlords and tax: are you up to date?

Following on the heels of the changes surrounding buy-to-let mortgages for landlords who own four or more homes in 2017, this year saw a new raft of tax rules. Are you up to date with the latest?

Tax rules around owning multiple properties can be complex – not to mention ever-changing, but our experienced property tax team can help you understand what you need to know, so that you can concentrate on your property portfolio and make the most of your tax allowances.

Making your invoices pay

RWB_Xero_Invoicing tips for small businesses

If you're running a small business, invoicing and then chasing for payment can be, at best, a minor irritant or, at worst, lead you to take your eye off the ball when it comes to growing your company.

Timely invoices are the lifeblood of your business and their importance shouldn't be underestimated. When you're starting out and only have a few invoices to track each month, it's a pretty straightforward job to keep on top of everything. But, as your business grows, keeping track of the status of your invoices can quickly take over and, if you're not well-prepared, adversely affect your cashflow.

Whichever way you do your invoicing – whether it’s manually, in spreadsheets, or using online invoicing software such as Xero – these tips will help.

VAT: When is it a recharge or a disbursement?

When you make payments on behalf of your customers, for goods or services received and used by them, you might be able to treat these payments as ‘disbursements’ for VAT purposes. This means that you don’t charge VAT on them when you invoice your customer and can’t claim back any VAT on them. However, it can be confusing to know whether it is a recharge or a disbursement.

In a recent VAT ‘Question of the Week’ from Croner Taxwise, HMRC tax advisor Tom Chamberlain gives a good overview of the difference between the two.

Getting the measure of your business performance

You’d be surprised just how many new clients we encounter who have very little idea just how their business is performing. Of course, that doesn’t last long, because measuring the performance of your business is one of the most important things you can do. It allows you to plot future goals and make a plan for what you need to do propel your company forward.

With the Xero Business Performance Dashboard, you'll never have to piece together raw information from your accounting system again.

Entrepreneurs’ Relief: The lay of the land

With pressure of local authorities to meet their quota on housebuilding, many agricultural land owners are now seeing the potential of selling off land to developers or renting land to generate an income.

These deals can be lucrative, with housebuilders willing to pay premium prices per acre for well-located land. However, land sales will lead to a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) charge that could significantly diminish the net proceeds. Unless, that is, you could be eligible for Entrepreneurs' Relief. This seems unlikely, however with forward planning, the land could qualify as a business asset even if it has been let for many years under an agricultural tenancy. At the same time, partial sales of farm land might not qualify for Entrepreneurs’ Relief even when the owner has actively farmed the land.

Xero dashboard – finances at your fingertips

When you're busy running a business, it's often a case of keeping several plates spinning at once. There are countless things to keep track of. One of the most important considerations is monitoring your finances.

The adage 'cash is king' could not be more pertinent when it comes to running a small business. Incomings and outgoings need to be constantly monitored, but time is often against you.

What you need is all the numbers, right at your fingertips. That's where the Xero dashboard comes in - offering you simple, flexible access to all your financial data in one place.

Selective Licensing - How will your investment properties be affected?

From 1st August 2018, Nottingham City Council introduced a new licensing scheme that will affect landlords in most areas of the city. From that date, landlords will be required to obtain a licence for each property they let, to make sure it meets the required safety and quality standards for tenants.

There has been much hype in the press over this move, but there is a small silver lining for landlords - the licence fee is tax deductible.

Find out how your property portfolio could be affected.

Making Tax Digital for barristers and chambers

In less than a year, HMRC will be introducing the Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme to modernise the tax system, making it “more effective, more efficient and easier for customers to comply”.

The first phase will require businesses over the VAT threshold to keep digital records for VAT purposes and submit quarterly submissions from 2019. As barristers qualify as businesses they will be expected to comply with the new scheme.

Businesses under the VAT threshold will not be asked to make the switch to MTD and update HMRC quarterly for any other taxes, until at least 2020.

Find out how this will affect your accounts and taxation.