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Personal and Tax Planning I'm selling my house - an enquiry about stamp duty. If I give to charity what does the government add to my contribution? Why do I pay so much tax? I haven't filed my tax return - am I in trouble? I have a loan from my employer - what are the tax consequences? Are gambling or National Lottery gains taxed? I want to give some money to charity but I don't pay much tax. Can I still make a Gift Aid donation, so the charity gets some tax back? My job is about to take me overseas for about two and a half years. I am very worried because I have read that the 'foreign earnings deduction' has been abolished. Does this mean I will have to suffer PAYE while I am abroad? My wife and I recently separated. Can I get a tax allowance for maintenance payments? I am on PAYE, and yet I always seem to have under-paid or over-paid tax by the end of the tax year. I thought PAYE was supposed to take care of all of this? Is there any tax advantage in paying a salary to my spouse for work done for my business?

My employer lent me £10,000 a few weeks ago. I'm paying it back over five years, interest free. Is there any tax consequence?

So long as, at any time in the tax year, the loan outstanding is more than £5,000 you will have to pay tax on the difference between the interest you pay (zero) and interest at the 'official rate'. The official rate changes from time to time, but is usually close to the commercial loan rate, so in effect you will pay tax on the interest you save.

In computing your taxable benefit you also need to take into account any loans made by your employer to members of your family. If such loans are made 'by virtue of your employment', then you can be taxed on the same basis as if the loan had been made to you.

However, in all cases loans by banks, etc, made on their normal commercial terms can generally be ignored, even if the interest rate is lower than the official rate.

Please refer to us for clarification regarding tax relief - loan planning is an essential aspect of our planning services.

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