Year End Tax Planning Tips For Companies
Corporation tax is set to reduce to 19% with effect from 1 April 2017 but opportunities still remain to reduce and defer corporation tax liabilities. Here are some you may wish to consider.
MAXIMISE CAPITAL ALLOWANCE
The annual investment allowance (AIA) provides 100% tax relief for qualifying expenditure incurred up to a limit of £200,000 for 12 month periods starting on 1 January 2016. The allowance can only be claimed in the period in which the expenditure was incurred. You should be aware that cars are excluded from this relief.
If you have a 31 March year end, it would be sensible to review capital expenditure plans and consider bringing forward any purchase to before 31 March, thereby utilising this allowance which might otherwise be lost.
On the other hand, if the £200,000 limit has been exceeded, then further purchases should be delayed until after the year end, if possible.
PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS
Relief for employer contributions is given in the chargeable accounting period in which the contributions are paid. In most cases it is sensible to ensure that all contributions are paid before that date in order to accelerate the relief. In the context of a 31 March year-end, if the payments are made before 31 March, relief is given at 20%. This would reduce to 19% for contributions paid after this date.
DEFERRING INCOME OR PROFITS
Consider delaying a transaction to shift profits forward into the next financial year, so as to delay by one year any corporation tax payable. This will also have the effect of reducing the corporation tax payable from 20% to 19%.
There are several ways of deferring income to the next tax year. Sales could be pushed forward to the next period, selling goods on consignment, or if a seasonal trade, changing the year end to exclude a more profitable period or to include a loss-making one.
CLAIM RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TAX CREDITS
Companies that have undertaken research and development work could qualify for generous tax reliefs. For an SME, for every £1 of qualifying R & D expenditure, an additional £1.30 is allowed in the tax computation. A loss making SME may be able to surrender the loss arising as a result of the R & D claim for a cash credit of 14.5%
CLEAR OVERDRAWN LOAN ACCOUNTS
The tax charged on a company loan to a “participator” is equal to 32.5% of the amount of the loan outstanding at the year-end, unless the loan has been repaid or cleared within nine months of the end of the accounting period. Companies should therefore review outstanding loans and consider clearing them within the nine months to avoid the tax charge.
CONSIDER ROLL OVER RELIEF
Any company that has realised gains on the disposal of land and buildings used in a trade should consider whether the corporation tax on this can be deferred by way of business asset roll over relief. This may be available if the company reinvests all of the disposal proceeds in new qualifying assets, either within 12 months before the disposal or up to 3 years after. Partial relief could be available if all the proceeds are not reinvested.
For further information please contact the tax team at Green & Co.
Please note: This article is a commentary on general principles and should not be interpreted as advice for your specific situation.
