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

Pay tax later If you are within PAYE, most or all of your tax is collected before you see your income. If you are self-employed, it is likely that you will pay most of your tax through self-assessment. This normally involves making payments on account (POA) on 31 January during the tax year and 31 July just after the end of it. The 2009/10 POA, due on 31 January and 31 July 2010, are initially based on the tax that was due for 2008/09. If your final 2009/10 tax is higher, you pay the balance on 31 January 2011. If your liability drops, you will get a repayment when you send your tax return in - but waiting for that rebate might leave you out of pocket. It's also possible to claim to reduce the POA to "what they ought to be" before you send in the 2009/10 tax return. You don't need to have a precise calculation, but you can usually tell when the POA will be much too large. If the 2009/10 self-assessed income has fallen - the business has had a bad year, interest rates on your savings are pitiful, or maybe you've taken a job within PAYE instead - it's worth making the claim so the money is in your bank account rather than theirs. From what the papers say, a lot of people should be making this claim this year. Action Point! Is your tax bill for 2009/10 likely to be less than it was in 2008/09?