Claim tax credits
Q: One of my friends mentioned that she thought tax credits could only be paid directly into your bank, but I receive mine by cheque. Has something changed?
A: If the Tax Credit Office don’t have your bank account deails, the Office can pay your tax credits by cheque rather than straight into your bank account. But from 6 April 2012, they'll only do this for the first four weeks that they don't have your account details.
If you haven't given details of an account for your tax credits to be paid into, the Tax Credit Office will contact you. You will then need to give account details within four weeks, or your payments could be stopped.
If they don’t contact you, call the Tax Credit Office with your bank account details on 0345 300 3900.
Category: Tax credits
Claiming a tax refund
Q: I left my job at the start of the year and I still haven’t found a new job yet. Am I eligible for a tax refund?
A: Based on the information you’ve provided, it is difficult to say with certainty whether you’re entitled to a tax refund. But if you think you've paid too much tax, you can make a tax refund claim from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) if any of the following applies:
- you've been unemployed for at least four weeks
- you stopped working because you've retired and you're not getting a pension from your old employer
- you've returned to studying
You can claim a tax refund by filling in form P50 - Claiming tax back when you have stopped working, which is available online at www.hmrc.gov.uk. Send the form to HMRC, together with form P45, Parts 2 and 3 - and keep Part 1A for your own records.
HMRC will send you any tax refund you're entitled to by post. They'll also send you a new form P45, Parts 1A, 2 and 3, if necessary.
Category: PAYE, NIC & Benefits In Kind
Leasing a car
Q: I’m thinking of leasing a car in the name of my personal company. Do you have any recommendations to keep the tax burden down?
A: Firstly, if the car triggers a benefit in kind, then you will always be better off looking for a vehicle with low CO2 emissions, as this will result in a lower car benefit percentage and therefore a lower personal tax liability for you.
Furthermore, you should also be aware that if the car has emissions over 160g/km, it is likely that 15% of the lease payments will be disallowed for corporation tax purposes. If the emissions are below this level, the entire lease payments should be tax deductible.
However, please note that this level will reduce to just 130g/km from 6 April 2013.
Category: Corporation Tax
