If you hold investment property in your own name you may be considering transferring it into a limited company. There are various tax advantages to doing this such as the ability to claim interest relief, potential VAT advantages, and the fact that retained profits will be taxed at a lower level. There is, however, a downside. The transfer of properties…
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A warning about energy efficient improvements
Another reminder (because it is so important) that since the 1st April this year tenants of domestic private rented property can ask their landlord to give consent to their making prescribed energy efficient improvements to the property. From the 1st April 2018, a landlord will be unable to grant a new tenancy of such a property if its energy performance…
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An enthusiastic auction buyer reveals his secrets
Coming, as I do, from a long line of traders I was raised to believe that one should never pay retail. It is for this reason that when I am purchasing investment property I always do so at auction. In my experience, there are a number of key advantages to buying this way. To begin with there are always much…
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A bluffer’s guide to VAT and property investment
“I never use profanity,” said Mark Twain “except in discussing house rent and taxes.” How he would have sworn, one imagines, had he ever been forced to talk about the subject of property investment and VAT. And to stop others swearing we have produced this short bluffer’s guide to the topic. Setting the scene As a starting point, the key…
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The property investor’s incorporation dilemma
Is it more advantageous to use a limited company to buy and hold your property investments or should you hold them direct? On the face of it, incorporation looks the better route. However, there are many other factors to consider, not least your personal circumstances and financial objectives, so professional advice will always be needed. In this article, we look…
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Reducing property tax with a special purpose vehicle
6.6.18 Checked – All info is still relevant to current regulations. Property development is absolutely in fashion at the moment, with the economic recovery in full swing and a general shortage of places for people to live. There’s no doubt that, for those with the enterprise, skills, and money to undertake developments, this can be a good way to get…
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Opportunity: Classic gains from classic cars
In 1996 you could have purchased an Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, of which only 19 were made, for £500,000. To put this into perspective, the same sort of money would have bought you a decent sized flat or a small house in Chelsea. Two decades later your Chelsea property would have been worth around £2.5m. Meanwhile the FTSE 100 Index…
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Trusts for Minors: Why and When?
Have trusts had their day? They are certainly looked at askance by HMRC, who sponsored a devastating attack on the creation of trusts in the 2006 Budget. However, that may be an indication that the rest of us might be missing something by not considering their advantages! This month we’d like to focus specifically on the idea of trusts for…
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Boats, planes and villas – tax efficient options
6.6.18 Checked – All info is still relevant to current regulations. If you’re one of those people who live to work and make money, and spend 100% of your time on business, you probably don’t need to read any further. If, on the other hand, you make money so as to enjoy life, you may be interested in ways to…
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Dividend reform: how to be a winner not a loser
One of the challenges facing tax authorities around the world is how to tax individuals on dividends paid by companies, given that those companies generally pay tax on profits before any such distribution is made. The approach in the US, for example, where corporation tax rates are higher than those in the UK, is to charge an additional 15% withholding…
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