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There is an error in the of the Charity Q&As - the question is repeated as the answer:
Quote:
MoneySaver’s Question:
My wife & I run a small registered charity, which is non profit making.
Can we claim any personal tax relief for use of a room in the home as an office from which we run the charity, or for web hosting fees for the charity site, or anything else for that matter? We take no income or fees from the charity. Can we claim VAT refunds for any charity expenses or purchases for its sole use?
Tax Tony’s Answer:
My wife & I run a small registered charity, which is non profit making.
Can we claim any personal tax relief for use of a room in the home as an office from which we run the charity, or for web hosting fees for the charity site, or anything else for that matter? We take no income or fees from the charity. Can we claim VAT refunds for any charity expenses or purchases for its sole use?
The Following User Says Thank You to johnllew For This Useful Post:Show me >>
I'd like to say thanks very much to Tony for all his hard work on this, it's much appreciated. I just wanted to ask one question about tax relief for things like bills when you're working at home - have the rules changed on this?
In Tony's new article, which says it is based on tax law at 20 September 2006:
"HMRC has a real downer on people claiming home running costs. The general principle is that you can only claim expenses actually incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business. They say (quite rightly) that you cam only claim the additional costs caused by working at home, such as the extra heating for occupying the house when it would otherwise have been empty. You would be paying water rates, council tax and mortgage rates anyway, so you cannot claim these as business expenses. It is simply wrong to claim a proportion of the total household bills, whatever you may have read."
In the old article, which says based on tax law at September 2005:
" I live in a small studio and use my pc/desk for running my self employment (as a sole trader in freelance catering management). Can I claim a % of the floor space, council tax and utilities, ISP costs etc against my tax? If so what % would be realistic? (The 'workspace' including cupboards full of research materials etc covers about 15% of the total flat).
Yes. You’ll have to be able to justify the percentage, but 15% sounds OK. "
Tony's answer on the "Non resident landlord scheme" is sadly wrong. Tony is not a specialist in non-UK residents, so to my mind should not be advising in this area at all. It is clear from the question that the landlord has a "usual place of abode" outside of the UK. The tenant has an obligation to withhold tax, and the questioner should be advised to complete an NRL1 form. Luckily, HMRC guidance on this topic is pleasantly easy to read.
I will change the answer because there is a technical error in it - as you rightly say: the determining factor is usual place of abode, rather than residence that matters and HMRC set 6 months as the cut-off point. Even so, if the tenant is paying the questioner directly, the rent will still be paid gross as it is below the £5,200 a year threshold. If a letting agent is involved and sufficiently switched on to know about the NRL scheme, I am sure they will tell the questioner about form NRL1.
I am afraid I cannot agree with the general point you make. Clients would not thank me for sending them to a specialist (no doubt at a cost) on anything and everything at all out of the ordinary. In practice, general practitioners are clients' first port of call. Part of the job is knowing one's limitations and when to pass work to specialists and when it can safely be dealt with in house.
Thanks Arthur 22. Yes, I have changed my tune on this. I would have said a couple of years ago that there was no right or wrong answer to this - just be reasonable and make sure you can justify the figures. But HMRC does seem to be tightening up on areas that previously it would have given little or no attention to. As well as home running costs, I have seen (and heard about) them taking a much stricter line on home telephones, broadband connections, travelling costs and mileage logs (to support business/private splits). At least you can see their own manuals on the HMRC website, so you can find out how they see these things.
I work for a company but on a self employed basis. I earn on average £420 per week before expenses (petrol etc)
My wife does not work but does sometimes help me with my paperwork. Can I employ her and take advantage of her income tax allowance?
Would I just add this weekly payment to my expenses and register her self employed too?
I was made redundant in Nov 2004, In June 2005 I was offer 3 self employment contracts totaling £7000, I registered with inland revenue in at that time. I also paid my NI. From Oct 05 to Jan 06 I was employed part time and earn £5000, prior to going back into full time employment at a gross annual salery of £32000 in feb 04. On my self assessment form do I inculde the employment earnings on which I paid taxes PAYE in addition to the self employment Income?
I just want to give Tax Tony my sincere thanks for taking the time to reply to my long post. You really are a dood and have honestly stopped me worrying about my tax
My husband had to retire early due to ill health, he now claim carer's allowance for me as I am registered disabled. I have BT shares, and he has Friend's Policy share. I have noticed that when the bonus is paid into our bank account in relevance to these shares, there is always a tax deduction.
How do we register for this to be avoided please?
My husband had to retire early due to ill health, he now claim carer's allowance for me as I am registered disabled. I have BT shares, and he has Friend's Policy share. I have noticed that when the bonus is paid into our bank account in relevance to these shares, there is always a tax deduction.
How do we register for this to be avoided please?
You can't. It's a notional amount of tax attached to a dividend which is not repayable.
Pls be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps. Take care over copyright. Use excerpts and links rather than copying long text. This site asserts copyright on all comments posted on the board.
Pls be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps.
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