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May Questions and Answers

Newsletter issue - May 2014

Q. If a director takes a £25,000 loan from his company and agrees to pay interest at say 3.5%, does this need to be declared on the company's tax return or on a form P11D?

A. This must be shown on the company's corporation return if it has not been repaid to the company within nine months of the end of the accounting year in which this was made. This will generate a corporation tax charge equivalent to 25% of the outstanding amount. The amount of interest paid on the loan is irrelevant for the corporation tax charge.

However, if the loan is made for a fixed period at a fixed interest rate which is equal to, or higher than, the official rate of interest (now 3.25%), there is no benefit in kind charge for the director personally, and no need to report this on the form P11D.

Q. If my employer leases a car to me at the fair market value for such a lease, which I pay in full to the employing company, will I be taxed as if I had the use of a company car with no lease?

A. The law that taxes company cars was recently changed to ensure employees are always taxed on the provision of a company car, irrespective of how that car is provided. So although you lease the car from your employer you will still be subject to the benefit in kind charge, which is calculated as a percentage of the vehicle's list price when new. The percentage varies from 0% to 35% depending on the vehicle's CO2 emissions. Any amounts you pay to your employer for the personal use of the car reduce the benefit in kind charge, but you will not be better off using the leasing arrangement.

Q. My husband supports the IT and telecoms systems used by my company, which pays him £150 per week through the payroll for this work. Can the company also pay a small pension contribution on his behalf?

A. Yes your company can pay a pension contribution for your husband as he is an employee of the company, although as he earns less than the personal allowance (£10,000 per year) the company is not obliged to auto-enrol him in a pension scheme. The company can claim a tax deduction for his wages and pension contribution, as long as that total sum is not excessive for the work he does. You may want to get some comparable quotes for IT and telephone systems support to check you are paying a fair rate for the work he does.