CSense Financial Services

08/10/2018

Recent tax changes for Buy to Let properties have two major implications for landlords. Firstly, landlords need to take the changes into account when completing their tax returns.
Secondly, and possibly more importantly from the landlord’s point of view, your profit could be affected.
Certain steps can be taken to mitigate some of the these changes. Speak to your qualified accountant or contact us for a review.

07/06/2017

Very productive day at Janus Hendersons and Jupiter, meeting various fund managers.

18/05/2017

Great to meet Paul Lewis, presenter on a programme that I'm an avid follower of. Attending .

26/03/2017

Have you done your Tax Year End finance planning?

Usually, annual ISA limits only go up by rate of inflation, so you can see this year's increase is much, much more than we'd normally expect to see.

Remember that once your money is put in an ISA, you don’t have to pay any income tax on your dividends or capital gains on your profits (it's worth noting, though, tax laws may change in future).

The current limit for this tax year is £15,240. You need to make sure that you have paid money into your Stocks and Shares ISA on or before 5 April 2017 to take advantage of this allowance. If you don't use it, then it's lost forever.

For the tax year starting 6 April 2017, you then get a new annual allowance, meaning you can put in up to £20,000.

Therefore, over the next few months, you could shelter as much as £35,240 in an ISA, if you have that level of funds available. And as everyone aged 18 or over can put money into a Stocks and Shares ISA, this means couples could put in a combined £70,480. That's quite a tax break!

08/03/2017

2017 Spring Budget Summary

Philip Hammond delivered his first and final Spring Budget on Wednesday 8 March 2016.

The decision to raise National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for the self-employed did not come as a surprise following last year’s levelling of the State Pension playing field.

Here’s our summary of the proposed changes: (Source Royal London, Your should not use this material for financial planning but seek appropriate advice from a professional)

Income tax
3.4 of HM Treasury Spring Budget 2017

The personal allowance will increase to £11,500 from 6 April 2017 and the point at which the higher rate of Income Tax will apply will increase to £45,000 from 6 April 2017. Although, this will remain at £43,000 for Scottish rate taxpayers.

National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
3.5 of HM Treasury Spring Budget 2017

Class 4 NICs will increase from 9% to 10% on 6 April 2018, and to 11% on 6 April 2019. Class 2 NICs will be abolished from 6 April 2018.

Dividend allowance
3.6 of HM Treasury Spring Budget 2017

The tax-free dividend allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,000 from 6 April 2018.

Business tax
3.11 of HM Treasury Spring Budget 2017

The rate of corporation tax will reduce from 20% to 19% from 1 April 2017. It will further reduce to 17% in 2020.

This will have a marginal impact on the cost for companies providing relevant life cover for employees but the relative cost of the cover remains unchanged. This will also apply to other expenses such as pension contributions.

Pensions

Money purchase annual allowance (MPAA)
Policy paper – reducing the money purchase annual allowance

As expected, the MPAA will reduce from £10,000 to £4,000 from 6 April 2017. The MPAA applies to individuals who have accessed their money purchase pensions using pension flexibility.

Transfers to qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (QROPS) may become taxable in an attempt to control abuse of the current pension benefits.

3.6 and 3.8 of HM Treasury Spring Budget 2017

The lifetime ISA will be available from 6 April 2017 and allows those under 40 to save up to £4,000 each year and receive a bonus of up to £1,000 a year on these contributions. These proceeds can be withdrawn tax-free to put towards a first home or when they turn 60.

In addition, the ISA limit will increase to £20,000 from 6 April 2017.

01/02/2017

Buy to Lending (not via LTD) is expected to drop considerably this year on the back of the changes in Taxation and tighter lending criteria as a result of legislation. Thought: How does this affect your current portfolio and your financial future?

15/11/2016

Come across this interesting point. ... "nothing works all the time!" (Ian Helsop, Old Mutual). Learning outcome... Diversification in thinking is the key.

02/10/2016

I thought this was an interesting article as I've come across this situation with work. Even those with relatively high income have difficulties in saving money. Worth a read. (This does not constitute Advice as I don't necessarily agree with the figures quotes and the level of savings is a function of a number of other factors)

The big reason that many people don't save for the future is that they would rather spend their money now.

27/07/2016

This year marks the 14th year since I decided to become self employed as an Independent Financial Adviser. Back in 2002, the average loan size on a mortgage was about £170k. Right now, I'm working on a case where the stamp duty alone is £165,750 (without the additional 3% second property). How things have evolved!

A big THANK YOU to those of you who have recommended me to your friends, family and work colleagues.

11/03/2016

Thinking of buying a New Build flat? Think again!

Service charges for new-build properties are 96% higher at £2,777 than for older dwellings, and levels vary markedly between developments, research reveals.

According to the survey by Direct Line for Business, a third of management companies increased these fees in the last two years.

Libraries, 24-hour concierge services, gyms and cinema rooms contributed to the increased cost. You should consider if these are services that arr of value to you.

Service charges are an additional cost, which should be factored in when considering a property. In some cases service charges are uncapped and can escalate rapidly. This could have a detrimental effect on your monthly budget or in the case of an investment property your profitability.