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It is not easy dealing with constant criticism especially when you are preparing for professional tax exams. What makes it even worse is when the criticism comes from ourselves. Most of us are much kinder and compassionate with other people compared to ourselves and...

The heatwave is finally here. Hope all of you are doing some tax revision while firing up the barbeque!When a client sets up a business, the two simple choices available are either set up a limited company or a sole trader's unincorporated business.Let us assume the...

Capital allowances come up in every exam, yet many students lose these easy marks. Capital allowances are simply tax depreciation and there are 3 types of allowances -writing down allowance (WDA), annual investment allowance (AIA) and the first-year allowance (FYA) on...

One of the fundamental areas in corporation tax is 75% groups. Companies in a 75% loss group can give each other trading losses while companies in a 75% gains group can transfer capital gains or capital losses. Group 1 is a simple 75% group -all 3 companies can give...

A popular topic in the Advanced Tax and BPT exams is offering advice on the difference between setting up a sole trader and a company making profits of £50,000. A sole trader business is part of the same individual’s income. If you are a higher rate taxpayer, then the...

An area many tax students find confusing is domicile. To help you understand it, I will refer to the pop star, Rita Ora. Rita was born in Kosovo so has a domicile of origin in Kosovo that she acquired from her father at birth. Let us assume that she was 15 when she...

An important area in Advanced Tax is gifts of residential property. The mistake students make is looking at the donees instead of the donor. Charlie is a 85-year-old UK domiciled individual and has always lived in the UK. He owns a residential property portfolio that...

A popular area on groups which tax examiners love is the targeted anti-avoidance rules (TAAR) to prevent companies buying other companies to use up their pre-acquisition losses. Blue Plc buys Orange Plc. Orange has pre-acquisition losses. TAAR prevents Orange property...

James Dyson, the legendary British inventor, and billionaire made a difficult decision to move the company headquarters to Singapore in order to launch the new Dyson electric car. Dyson is synonymous with innovation like Elon Musk and has invented its own vacuum...

HMRC has raised an assessment for £4.9 million on Gary Lineker’s company as part of the IR-35 crackdown against personal service companies according to ‘The Times’. The taxman has been targeting presenters who invoice TV companies through limited companies on grounds...