Personal Tax Advice
At About Tax, we are specialists in advising on personal tax affairs - areas of expertise include:
Property taxation and restructuring
Estate planning and inheritance tax
Income tax planning
Capital gains tax planning
And many more.
Below are some examples of clients we have recently helped.
CASE STUDY 1: the Landlord
We were contacted by a client who was concerned about the recent changes to landlord taxation. They wanted to know how they would be affected, and what options were available to adapt.
We met the client and undertook a thorough review of their assets, providing the client with details over how their tax position - and profitability of their investments - would be affected.
We presented the client with a number of options over how they might adapt. They decided to incorporate the portfolio into a limited company.
Although ordinarily both capital gains tax and SDLT would be chargeable, through the appropriate application of statutory reliefs - backed by HMRC clearances - we were able to transfer the portfolio to a limited company at a substantial reduced tax cost.
Case study 2: death-bed planning
We were contacted by a client whose father was expected to pass away very shortly, while owning a significant estate. They wanted to understand the potential inheritance tax liability and they could maximise the legacy available to their family.
We performed a review of the estate, identifying all available reliefs, and quantifying the likely inheritance tax liability.
Due to the timeframes available, much of the traditional inheritance tax planning - relying on making gifts to family, or tax-relived investments - were not available.
However, the father owned shares in a trading company. By investing additional assets into this company, and structuring this very carefully with the assistance of solicitors, immediate inheritance tax was available.
When the father passed away shortly after, he did with greater comfort that his family would be financially supported.
CASE STUDY 3: the EBT
We were contacted by a client that had set up a contentious tax avoidance arrangement some time ago (an EBT), as an alternative to a retirement fund. Due to legislative change, the trustees would no longer let the client access the funds.
We first performed an in depth review of the trust arrangement. Once comfortable, we arranged for the trust to be migrated to more amenable trustees, who we then provided advice on the tax position.
Due to the "disguised remuneration" tax changes, there are few if any tax efficient ways to access funds from an employment related trust. However, by careful negotiation with HMRC, we were able to secure favourable terms for the client to access the funds.
The client now draws down on this as a retirement and investment fund, offsetting the tax cost with pension contribution and EIS relief.
The above are just a few examples of how we have helped clients in the past. To find out how we might be able to assist you, please contact us.
