October Question and Answer Section
Newsletter issue - October 2013
Q. There is an offer in my area to lease an electric car for two years, to help test the electric charging infrastructure installed by the council. Can my company take advantage of the tax breaks if I lease the car?
A. No. If the lease for the car is in your personal name your company cannot claim the 100% capital allowances which are available for electric and low-emissions vehicles. If the car will be used for your business we can help you crunch the numbers to see if it would be worthwhile for your company to purchase or lease the car and claim the allowances. However, from 6 April 2015 there will be a tax charge for your personal use of the electric car.
Q. My daughter is now studying at University, but she worked full-time after leaving school in June and had tax deducted from all of her wages. Can she claim that tax back now, or does she have to wait until the end of the tax year?
A. She can claim the tax back now, and doesn't have to wait until the end of the tax year on 5 April 2014 to receive her tax refund. She needs to complete form P50 and send to HMRC.
However, if she expects to work again in the Christmas holidays, she may want to wait until she has completed that stint of work to reclaim all of the tax deducted in one go.
Q. I'm going to represent my company on an official UK trade mission to Australia, organised by my trade body. It will involve meetings with Australian potential clients over four days in two cities. My wife will accompany me on the trip, but she will not take part in the meetings. We will stay on in Australia to enjoy a short holiday. How should I split the costs between business and personal?
A. Your wife's share of the costs, such as air-fares and hotel bills, are not a business expense, so you need to personally reimburse your company for those costs, if tax implications are to be avoided. Any expenses relating to the holiday part of the trip (e.g. hotel and car hire expenses) should also be borne by you personally, not by your company.