Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is normally charged at a simple flat rate of 20% and this applies to most chargeable gains made by individuals. If taxpayers only pay basic rate tax and make a small capital gain, they may only be subject to a reduced rate of 10%. Once the total of taxable income and gains exceed the higher rate threshold, the excess will be subject to 20% CGT.

A higher rate of CGT applies to gains on the disposal of residential property (apart from a principal private residence). The rates are 18% for basic rate taxpayers (2023-24: 18%) and 24% (2023-24: 28%) for higher rate or additional rate taxpayers. Again, if the gain pushes a taxpayer into the higher rate, then CGT will be payable at both rates.

The 18% basic rate and 28% higher or additional rate of CGT that applies to gains in respect of carried interest (the share of profits or gains that is paid to asset managers) remain unchanged in the current tax year.

The usual due date for paying any CGT owed to HMRC is the 31 January following the end of the tax year in which the capital gain was made. However, since 27 October 2021 any CGT due on the sale of a residential property needs to be paid within 60 days. In practice, this change only applies to the sale of any residential property that does not qualify for Private Residence Relief (PRR).

There is also an annual CGT exemption for individuals that is currently £3,000 (2023-24: £6,000). A husband and wife each have a separate exemption. Same-sex couples who acquire a legal status as civil partners are treated in the same way as married couples for CGT purposes.

The Corporation Tax Main Rate applies to companies with profits in excess of £250,000. The applicable rate is currently 25%. A Small Profit Rate (SPR) of 19% applies to companies with profits of up to £50,000.

Where a company has profits between £50,000 and £250,000 a marginal rate of Corporation Tax applies that bridges the gap between the lower and upper limits. The lower and upper limits are proportionately reduced for short accounting periods of less than 12 months and where there are associated companies.

The effect of marginal relief is that the effective rate of Corporation Tax gradually increases from 19% where profits exceed £50,000 to 25% where profits are more than £250,000.

The amount of Corporation Tax to pay will be found by multiplying your profits by the main rate of 25% and deducting marginal relief. For the current 2024 fiscal year, the marginal relief fraction is 3/200. HMRC also has an online calculator that can be used to calculate marginal relief on Corporation Tax profits. The calculator can be found at www.tax.service.gov.uk/marginal-relief-calculator

The Let Property Campaign provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities whether due to misunderstanding the tax rules or because of deliberate tax evasion. Participation in the campaign is open to all residential property landlords with undisclosed taxes. The campaign is not suitable for those letting out non-residential properties.

Landlords who do not avail of the opportunity and are targeted by HMRC can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due together with possible criminal prosecution. Taxpayers that come forward will benefit from better terms and lower penalties for making a disclosure. Landlords that make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstance on top of the tax and interest due. There are higher penalties for offshore liabilities.

There are three main stages to taking part in the campaign, notifying HMRC that you wish to take part, preparing an actual disclosure and making a formal offer together with payment. The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property. This includes, amongst others, landlords with multiple properties and specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals. Once HMRC have been notified of the wish to take part in the campaign, landlords usually have 90 days to calculate and pay any tax owed.

In the coming months we will start to see how our new government intends to change the UK tax rules to further its economic growth agenda.

Whatever they decide to do, readers who presently benefit from tax and/or business planning strategies, should be prepared to revise their plans as fiscal changes are announced.

For example, if you are considering the disposal of assets at a profit, then any gain may be subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT). If the Chancellor changes the CGT rates, perhaps by treating capital gains as income for tax purposes – or by removing or reducing present CGT reliefs – your after tax profits may not be at a level to satisfy your plans.

The first opportunity to alter tax or other business related matters will likely be the Autumn Budget. This year will be Rachel Reeves first announcements at the despatch box, and she may introduce far reaching changes.

This does mean that there is a short period before the Autumn Budget when we will be subject to present legislation. If you are considering radical changes to your business or financial circumstances in the next year would it be sensible to consider moving transactions forwards as a hedge against negative changes come September/October 2024?

We recommend keeping a weather eye on your planning options. If you are about to buy or sell business or personal assets, please call so we can consider your options. Double guessing what the Treasury may or may not do is not an exact science, but we can be fairly confident that changes are on the way, the fiscal goal posts will be moving.

Ever wondered how your stake in your business is represented in your accounts?

The answer can be found at the bottom of your balance sheet. Simply put it is the value of your physical business assets less any liabilities; usually described as net assets.

But this is not the full story as there is a further intangible asset that is generally omitted from your accounts. It’s called goodwill. It is the extra value a buyer is willing to pay, over and above the net assets value of your business, for the rights to your customer lists and other non-physical assets that are generally left out of your accounts.

Ultimately, what you can sell a business for will be limited to what a buyer is willing to pay. But there is value in making a consistent estimate of what your business may be worth, especially if this exercise is undertaken annually, when your financial accounts are prepared.

In this way you will be able to see if the valuation is increasing or decreasing, and if increasing, is the increase at a sufficient rate to meet your planned future exit from your business?

Hopefully, many of you will already be monitoring your business value in this way, if not, please get in touch so we can figure out the best way to add this important indicator to your final accounts each year.