Whether you’re ready for the end of the 2023 financial year or not, it’s no secret that it can be a stressful time. According to Sage, over 600,000 small business owners in the UK reported suffering from panic attacks as a result of the stress caused when trying to complete their tax returns.
Fortunately, we’ve compiled a checklist of everything you need to know to help ease the process, reduce stress, and ensure your tax return is done in plenty of time.
Gather outstanding invoices and receipts in plenty of time
If you still have any outstanding payments, invoices, or receipts, you need to ensure these are sorted in order to close your books at the end of the financial year. It’s better to get this done in plenty of time to avoid chasing clients at the last minute.
Use your Capital Gains Allowance
This is being reduced to only £6,000 with effect from April 2023 so it would be beneficial for you to make sure you’ve used your full allowance by the end of the tax year whilst it is still at the full amount of £12,300. For example, if you have shares with large gains it would be worth using this allowance to reset the base cost, thus saving you tax in the long term.
Use your Dividend Allowance
Everyone currently has an allowance of £2,000 so, if you’d like to reduce your overall tax position as a business owner, it may be worth considering dividends over a salary. Please note that from 6th April 2023 this is reducing to £1,000, and from 6th April 2024 it will go down to only £500.
Don’t forget about Annual Gift Exemptions for Inheritance tax purposes
Each person has an annual gift exemption of £3,000 and £5,000 if gifting to your children on the occasion of their marriage. You can also make regular gifts from your income if you have income that is surplus to your needs.
Get a head start on the 2024 financial year
Start the new tax year as you mean to go on by putting everything in place as soon as possible. That way you aren’t panicking at the last moments to ensure you’ve done everything correctly.
If our team can help in any way, we’d love to hear from you! Please email us at info@kewaccountants.co.uk or call the office on 01952 216872.
