FAQs Business planning Personal and tax planning Investment and retirement planning Estate planning VAT

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?

There are definite advantages in paying a spouse a salary if it can be justified, and also if the income will be taxed at a lower rate than you would pay. The Inland Revenue insists that the salary should actually be paid, and that the level of payment should not be excessive when compared with an 'open market' salary for the type of work done. Remember to allow for national insurance contributions in the calculation. It might also be possible to provide a 'company' car free of tax, and/or to set up a 'company' pension scheme for your spouse. In these cases, professional advice should be taken.

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