Whether you’ve started your own business, or come into a sum of money, tax planning sounds almost as if it’s optional. That’s not the case – and throughout the UK, it seems that more and more of us are paying fees that we really don’t need to, and not taking advantage of relief schemes available through ignorance. There are a number of solicitors in North Wales which can assist you in making your accounts work for you—and prevent haemorrhaging of your money.
While most of us know that the top rate of income tax is a staggering 45%, it is imperative that professionals under this band think about the most efficient way of extracting profits from their limited companies. If you’re a director or a shareholder, there are multiple ways of doing so. For example, you could take dividends instead of salary, or make company contributions to your and your staff’s pension to receive some very tax efficient benefits. Furthermore, if you can time your dividends, you should take them in the next tax year to ensure that liabilities that arise are paid later, which ensures cash flow advantage. For those who are unincorporated, a good solicitor will work on a plan with you to alter profits and business expenses to achieve maximum cash flow advantage.
At a smaller stage with your company? Entrepreneur’s relief offers some very significant savings when selling shares of the whole or part of your business. Gains on qualifying assets are taxed at a very low rate of 10% when Entrepreneur’s relief is invoked, though it’s always best to go through this with a solicitor as certain conditions and clauses apply.
A family owned business? You stand to gain the most from tax planning services – you should contact a solicitor immediately to make sure that you’re not missing out. If you consider succession planning, a large amount of care is needed with your tax planning to make sure that pitfalls are avoided. We always recommend talking to a professional to see what can be done for you on an individual basis.
