BellaBoo

Hi, not a HMRC Admin but your accountant is woefully incorrect. You can only self assess for 4 years from the end of the tax year. So I'm not sure why your accountant thinks they can file self assessments for the out of date years. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/9/section/34A But there is also a 4 year time limit on making claims (such as CGT losses). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/9/section/43

Hi, not a HMRC Admin but there is a very clear answer to this scenario. Unfortunately, it isn't a favourable answer. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim37940

That is what I'm explaining. The contributions are given relief in the year the contribution is made. Let me use numbers to try help demonstrate. Say you earn 100k this year and contribute 60k to your SIPP (we will ignore employers contributions for now to keep it simple, but they also count towards the annual allowance). The provider would add 15k in tax relief bringing the total you contributed to 75k. Normally that would be above your annual allowance and result in a tax charge. But if you had sufficient unused allowance from the previous years, no tax charge would be created. As you added 75k to the pension, your basic rate band would be increased by this amount to 112,700. Now you'd pay 0% on 12570 covered by the personal allowance. That leaves 87430 liable to tax. As this is less than the increased basic rate band, all of it would be due tax at 20% bringing the tax to 17486. Had you not made that contribution you would've paid 20% on 37700 and 40% on 49730, bringing the tax to 27432. And if you'd earned more than 100k then the saving would be more as then you'd be able to use more of the increased basic rate band. If I'm not helping, please say and I'll stop posting. I don't want to confuse matters more for you.

Hi, I am not a HMRC Admin but think (or hope) I can help explain it. It is a carry forward of unused pension allowance to the current year. Not a carry back of pension contributions to a previous year. It is to enable you to make a greater contribution in the current year if you've used the current years allowance. Normally if you exceed your annual allowance you'd be liable to a tax charge. But if you have enough annual allowance from the previous years then this would enable you to pay in more (as long as you have sufficient relevant earnings in the year the contribution is made, to cover the increased contribution) without getting a tax charge.

Hi, I'm not HMRC Admin but a few points to note. If you transfer your interest to your minor children then it will likely be a settlement, the net effect of which is that it remains taxable on you. If your son truly has the beneficial interest then it is entirely up to him how the money is spent and there are few children who would choose to use it on school fees. By giving your son a beneficial interest, he will have lost benefits he could have had as a first time buyer when he leaves the nest. If there is a mortgage on the property that will throw an additional spanner into the works too. I think the best advice I can give you is to engage a professional to help keep you right.

Hi, I'm not HMRC Admin but your question is an easy one. Employees realistically can only claim for the extra unit cost of utilities (gas, water & electric) used in performing the duties of employment (and business telephone calls if they're not part of a free package or broadband if your Internet is metered). This is because in order to claim as an employee, the expense must be wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred performing the duties of employment and you must be obliged to incur the expense by reason of holding the employment. Mortgage interest/rent and council tax cannot be claimed as they weren't incurred in performing the duties of employment. If the broadband is a fixed cost then it as before it wasn't incurred in performing the duties. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32820 https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32815

Hi Puffer, I can't say why it exists sadly and I don't think HMRC can either since they don't write the legislation. At a guess, they didn't want HMRC to get bogged down in disputes between spouses and the admin costs (of enacting the transfer, then cancelling, then recovering the underpaid tax) would likely be too erroneous.

Hi, I'm not a HMRC Admin but contributions to a relief at source pension do not reduce your taxable income, they increase your basic rate band. This is because the pension provider will claim the basic rate tax relief and pay it into your pension. So if you wanted to contribute 10k to a pension, you would pay 8k from your take home pay and pension would add 2k, bringing the total contribution to 10k. In order to get 8k take home, you'd have to have earned 10k and paid 20% (2k) in tax. So that 2k you paid isn't lost, it is paid into the pension. If your scheme was deducted before tax, you'd have to pay 10k gross into the scheme (and had you not paid it in to pension, you would've received 8k into take home). So hopefully that helps explain that even if you do include them on the self assessment, it will not affect your tax liability if you are a basic rate payer.

I forgot to include the link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/3/section/55D

Hi Puffer, not HMRC Admin but think I can offer an explanation. The law basically says where notice to cancel is given, it takes effect from the next tax year. As explained by para (6) in the link below. But, as detailed in para (3), if you wait until the tax year is over before making an election for that tax year, the election is only for that one tax year and does not carry forward. So if you don't know whether the transfer will be of benefit or not, you may want to wait until the year has ended and you do know before either of you apply.