Top Ways To Legally Beat The Taxman And Lower Your Tax Bills

20/04/2012

By Anita Brook, Managing Director Of Accounts Assist

With HMRC announcing changes in the way it deals with investigations into tax fraud, and recent news stating that there will be a ‘substantially increased number of prosecutions over the next four years’ and professionals reportedly being subjected to lie-detector tests to beat tax cheats, Anita Brook, managing director of Accounts Assist, highlights the top, and legal, ways you can lower your tax bills.

1) Expenses: 
Not all business expenses are tax deductible, but many are, so it’s important to make sure you claim as much as you can. In the most part, anything that...

...isn’t a capital asset can be deducted from your taxable profits. This means you can get immediate tax relief.

You can get tax relief on items such as desks, computers, chairs, and on costs from stationary and communications to advertising and business entertainment costs, and rent for business premises.

If your office is based at home, you can claim a proportion of costs, for example; your water rates, insurance, heating and lighting costs. The proportion should be based on the floor area or number of rooms used for business, and the proportion of the time it is used for business, if it is not for exclusive use.

Your business can also claim tax relief on salaries and benefits. This could include the cost of training employees and the cost of employee childcare provision as well as wages and redundancy payments.

2) Company Car: If you are self-employed and need to travel around for your business, you could either buy or rent the car through the business. You can get a car allowance, and whilst this is taxable, it can be offset again the actual costs of running your own car.

With regards to business mileage, make sure you claim! If you are using... continued on page two >

 

 

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