Year End Tax Review 2009/2010 Contents Lead articles The year ahead... This year, next year Pension hit Employees Too much NIC NIC and pensions Company cars Tax-free benefits Business - General Time to incorporate? His and hers Family bonus Profit and loss Show me the money Can't pay, won't pay? Turning back the clock Business - VAT Standard VAT or flat VAT? VAT goes down - must come up? European revolution A good start for VAT Happy returns? Investments Top-up savings Rainy day money Capital Gains Gains favoured Splitting gains A place in the country Holiday lets end Families Family fortunes Where there's a Will Credits and debits Piggy banks Still trustworthy? Administration Penalty shoot-out Paperwork, paperwork Pay tax later Opportunity knocks again Charity Give and save Non-Domiciled People Home and away Interest Interesting times

Standard VAT or flat VAT? A simplified "flat rate VAT scheme" is available for businesses with VATable turnover of up to £150,000. You pay a lower rate of output tax on your sales, but you don't claim input tax on your expenses. The rate depends on the type of business you are - some rates seem to be generous, and some are less so. It is at least worth considering the figures if you qualify, to see if it might save you money or time, or even both. There are bigger savings - or pitfalls - if you have two different activities which on their own would have different flat rates. The rules say you should use one rate for the whole business, and it's the one appropriate for the larger part of your turnover. That can be a very good thing or a very bad thing, and it's important to think about it. The cut in the standard rate of VAT during 2009 affected flat rate traders in different ways. The rates went down by different amounts, and have now gone back up again on 1 January 2010. After two changes it's worth double checking that you are using the right rate, and that the scheme is still to your advantage - particularly as the rates didn't all go back up to where they were on 30 November 2008. Action Point! Could you save under the flat rate scheme?