A regular customer owes you a lot of money and has offered to pay half now if you agree to accept it as full payment for all outstanding invoices. But how do you deal with the bad debt? Our VAT expert John Craig explains in greater detail. The VAT rules are different according to whether...

You own a building that has a ground floor shop and a first floor flat, which you rent out. You opted to tax the property many years ago. But have you been dealing with the VAT correctly and can you save some tax in the future? John Craig provides the answers. Many landlords have opted...

VAT It has been confirmed today that the payment of the suspended VAT quarter (the VAT quarter due in March to June 2020) which was previous due for repayment by end of March 2021 can now be repaid by way of 11 equal instalments over the tax year 2021/2022 in order to avoid businesses suffering...

To help builders affected by the Coronavirus crisis, the new reverse charge rules for the construction industry has been pushed back to the 1st March 2021. What does the delay mean for your business? Elaine Wight finds out. HMRC has recognised that builders are already under enormous pressure as a result of the Coronavirus crisis....

Q. Within my building supplies store, we account for VAT by using a point of sale retail scheme based on our daily gross takings figures. We have quite a lot of account customers who buy goods from the shop but don’t pay until 30 or 60 days later. We include the sale in the till...

Q. I’m the only director of my company and I own all its shares. I bought a van in my name but I intend to use it in the company’s trade. Can the company reclaim the VAT included in the purchase price? A. If the van was purchased and used privately or for a different...

As a business which hosts seminars and courses, food and drink is provided as part of this during the day. A tax inspector refused to allow a tax deduction for the cost because he says that it is business entertainment. Is he correct? Income tax, corporation tax and VAT legislation each contain a similar rule...

A local sports club held a Christmas fundraising dinner, the club is non-profit making but they are unsure about how to deal with VAT on the income. Also can the club claim any input tax on the costs of the dinner? John Craig provides the answers. The good news is that the income from the...

Mr Brown owns a warehouse that he rents out and the income that he receives is exempt from VAT. He has offered a new tenant a three month rent-free period at the beginning of a new rental agreement. Does this create any VAT problems? Our VAT expert John Craig discusses. Rent-free or not? The first...

When you buy a car, unless you use it 100% for business, you can’t reclaim any of the VAT paid on the purchase. However, more generous rules apply to the cost of motoring expenses such as accessories, repairs and so on. John Craig explains exactly what these rules are and how you can benefit from...