Income Tax
Allowances 2020/21 2019/20
Personal Allowance (PA}* £12,500 £12,500
Marriage Allowance** £1,250 £1,250
Blind Person's Allowance £2,500 £2,450
Rent a room relief*** £7,500 £7,500
Trading Income*** £1,000 £1,000
Property Income*** £1,000 £1,000
*PA is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 by which 'adjusted income' exceeds £100,000. There is no allowance given above £125,000.
**The part of the PA that is transferable to a spouse or civil partner who is not a higher or additional rate taxpayer.
***If gross income exceeds it, the limit may be deducted instead of actual expenses.
Rate bands 2020/21 2019/20
Basic Rate Band (BRB} £37,500 £37,500
Higher Rate Band (HRB} £37,501-£150,000 £37,501-£150,000
Additional rate over £150,000 over £150,000
Personal Savings Allowance (PSA)
- Basic rate taxpayer £1,000 £1,000
- Higher rate taxpayer £500 £500
Dividend Allowance (DA) £2,000 £2,000
BRB and additional rate threshold are increased by personal pension contributions (up to permitted limit) and Gift Aid donations.
Tax rates 2020/21 & 2019/20
Rates differ for General/Savings/Dividend income G S D
Basic rate 20% 20% 7.5%
Higher rate 40% 40% 32.5%
Additional rate 45% 45% 38.1%
General income (salary, pensions, business profits, rent) usually uses personal allowance, basic rate and higher rate bands before savings income (interest). Scottish taxpayers are taxed at different rates on general income (see below).
To the extent that savings income falls in the first £5,000 of the basic rate band, it is taxed at nil rather than 20%.
The PSA taxes interest at nil, where it would otherwise be taxable at 20% or 40%. Dividends are normally taxed as the 'top slice' of income. The DA taxes the first £2,000 of dividend income at nil, rather than the rate that would otherwise apply.
Income tax - Scotland 2020/21 2019/20
Starter rate 19% £2,085 £2,049
Basic rate 20% £2,086-£12,658 £2,050-£12,444
Intermediate rate 21% £12,659-£30,930 £12,445-£30,930
Higher rate 41% £30,931-£150,000 £30,931-£150,000
Top rate 46% over £150,000 £150,000
The Scottish rates and bands do not apply for savings and dividend income, which are taxed at normal UK rates.
High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC)
1% of child benefit for each £100 of adjusted net income between £50,000 and £60,000.
Remittance basis charge 2020/21 2019/20
For non-UK domiciled individuals who have been UK resident in at least:
7 of the preceding 9 tax years £30,000 £30,000
12 of the preceding 14 tax years £60,000 £60,000
15 of the preceding 20 tax years Deemed to be UK domiciled
Pensions
Registered Pensions 2020/21 2019/20
Lifetime Allowance (LA) £1,073,100 £1,055,000
Annual Allowance (AA)* £40,000 £40,000
Annual relievable pension inputs are the higher of earnings (capped at AA) or £3,600.
*Usually tapered down, to a minimum of £4,000 (2019/20: £10,000), when adjusted income exceeds £240,000 (2019/20 £150,000).
State pension (per week) 2020/21 2019/20
Old state pension - Single person £134.25 £129.20
- Married couple £214.75 £206.65
New state pension* £175.20 £168.60
*Applies to those reaching state retirement age after 5 April 2016.
Annual investment limits
Individual Savings Account (ISA) 2020/21 2019/20
- Overall limit £20,000 £20,000
- Lifetime ISA £4,000 £4,000
Junior ISA £9,000 £4,368
EIS - 30% relief £2,000,000 £2,000,000
Seed EIS (SEIS) - 50% relief £100,000 £100,000
Venture Capital Trust (VCT) - 30% relief £200,000 £200,000
National Insurance Contributions
Class 1 (Employees) Employee Employer
Main NIC rate 12% 13.8%
No NIC on First £183pw £169pw
Main Rate charged up to* £962pw no limit
2% rate on earnings above £962pw N/A
Employment allowance per business** N/A £4,000
*Nil rate of employer NIC for employees aged under 21 and apprentices aged under 25, up to £962pw.
**Some businesses do not qualify, including certain sole director companies and employers who have an employer's Class 1 NIC liability of £100,000 or more for 2020/21. Employer contributions (at 13.8%) are also due on most taxable benefits (Class 1A) and on tax paid on an employee's behalf under a PAYE settlement agreement (Class 1B).
Class 2 (Self employed)
Flat rate per week £3.05
Small profits threshold £6,475
Class 3 (Voluntary) - Flat rate per week £15.30
Class 4 (Self employed)
On profits £9,500 - £50,000 9.0%
On profits over £50,000 2.0%
Vehicle Benefits
Cars
Taxable benefit: List price of car multiplied by chargeable percentage.
2020/21 chargeable percentage for petrol cars first registered:
Pre 05.04.2020 Post 06.04.2020
CO2 g/km Electric range miles % %
0 N/A 0 0
1-50 >130 2 0
1-50 70-129 5 3
1-50 40-69 8 6
1-50 30-39 12 10
1-50 <30 14 12
51-54 N/A 15 13
Then a further 1% for each 5g/km CO2 emissions, up to a maximum of 37%.
Diesel cars that are not RDE2 standard suffer a 4% supplement on the above figures but are still capped at 37%.
Vans
Chargeable value of £3,490 (2019/20: £3,430) if private use is more than home-to-work. Electric vans £2,792 (2019/20: £2,058).
Fuel
Employer provides fuel for private motoring in an employer-owned:
Car: CO2-based percentage from above table multiplied by £24,500 (2019/20: £24,100).
Van: £666 (2019/20: £655).
Employee contributions do not reduce taxable figure unless all private fuel is paid for by the employee (in which case there is no benefit charge).
Tax-free mileage allowances
Employee's own transport per business mile
Cars first 10,000 miles 45p
Cars over 10,000 miles 25p
Business passengers 5p
Motorcycles 24p
Bicycles 20p
Capital Gains Tax
Annual exempt amount 2020/21 2019/20
Individuals, estates £12,300 £12,000
Most trusts £6,150 £6,000
Tax rate
Individual (to basic rate limit)* 10% 10%
Individual (above basic rate limit)* 20% 20%
Trusts, estates* 20% 20%
Entrepreneurs' Relief (ER)** 10% 10%
Investors' Relief (IR)*** 10% 10%
*Individuals are taxed at 18%/28% on gains on residential property and receipts of carried interest. Trusts and estates are taxed at 28% in these circumstances.
**ER is available for lifetime gains of up to £1m (£10m for disposals pre 11.3.20).
***IR has a lifetime limit for qualifying gains of £10m.
Corporation Tax
Year to 31.03.2021 31.03.2020
Corporation Tax rate 19% 19%
Research and development relief
SME enhanced expenditure deduction scheme* 130% 130%
Large company R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) Scheme** 13% 12%
*Additional deduction for qualifying R&D.
**Taxable expenditure credit for qualifying R&D.
SMEs that make losses can surrender the deduction to HMRC in exchange for a payment of 14.5% of the loss.
Main capital allowances
Plant and machinery allowances Rate
Annual Investment Allowance (AIA)
- expenditure 1.1.19 - 31.12.20 £1,000,000 100%
- expenditure pre 1.1.19 and post 31.12.20 £200,000 100%
Energy/water-efficient equipment bought pre 1/6 April 2020 100%
Writing down allowance: general pool (reducing balance) 18%
Writing down allowance: special rate pool (reducing balance) 6%
Motor cars purchased
From 01.04.18 01.04.15-31.03.18 Allowance
CO2 (g/km) CO2 (g/km)
New cars only up to 50 up to 75 100%
In general pool up to 110 up to 130 18% pa
In special rate pool above 110 above 130 6% pa
Structures and buildings allowance
From 29.10.18 to 31.3.20 (companies) or 5.4.20 (others) 2%
From 1.4.20 (companies) or 6.4.20 (others) 3%
Property Taxes
Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED)
ATED applies to 1 high value' residential properties owned via a corporate structure, unless the property is used for a qualifying purpose.
The tax applies to properties valued at more than £500,000.
Property value Annual Charge
31.3.2021 31.3.2020
£0.5m - £1m £3,700 £3,650
£1m - £2m £7,500 £7,400
£2m - £5m £25,200 £24,800
£5m - £10m £58,850 £57,900
£1Om - £20m £118,050 £116,100
Over £20m £236,250 £232,350
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Land Transaction Tax {LTT)
Residential property (1st property only)
SDLT- England & NI LBTT - Scotland LTT- Wales
£000 Rate £000 Rate £000 Rate
Up to 125 Nil Up to 145 Nil Up to 180 Nil
125 - 250 2% 145 - 250 2 % 180 - 250 3.5%
250 – 925 5% 250 - 325 5% 250 – 400 5.0%
925 - 1,500 10% 325 - 750 10% 400 – 750 7.5%
Over 1,500 12% Over 750 12% 750 - 1,500 10.0%
Over 1,500 12.0%
A supplement applies for all three taxes where an additional residential property is purchased for more than £40,000 (unless replacing a main residence). It is also payable by all corporate purchasers. The rate is 3% (LBTT: 4%) of the total purchase price.
SDLT: First-time buyers purchasing a property of up to £500,000 pay a nil rate on the first £300,000 of the purchase price.
LBTI: First-time buyer relief increases the nil rate band to £175,000.
SDLT: A rate of 15% may apply to the total purchase price, where the property is valued above £500,000 and purchased by a 'non-natural person' (e.g. a company).
Non-residential or mixed use property
SDLT- England & NI LBTT- Scotland LTT- Wales
£000 Rate £000 Rate £000 Rate
Up to 150 Nil Up to 150 Nil Up to 150 Nil
150 - 250 2% 150 - 250 1% 150 - 250 1%
Over 250 5% Over 250 5% 250 - 1,000 5%
Over 1,000 6%
Value Added Tax
Standard rate (1/6 of VAT-inclusive price) 20%
Registration level from 1.4.2017 £85,000 per annum
Deregistration level from 1.4.2017 £83,000 per annum
Most businesses above the registration threshold must comply with the Making Tax Digital requirements.
Flat Rate Scheme (FRS)
Annual taxable turnover to enter scheme Up to £150,000
Must leave scheme if annual gross turnover Exceeds £230,000
Inheritance Tax
2020/21 2019/20
Nil rate band (NRB)* £325,000 £325,000
NRB Residential enhancement (RNRB)** £175,000 £150,000
Tax rate on death*** 40% 40%
Tax rate on lifetime transfers to most trusts 20% 20%
**RNRB is available for transfers of a main residence to (broadly) direct descendants. It tapers away at the rate of £1 for every £2 of estate value above £2m.
Up to 100% of the proportion of a deceased spouse's/civil partner's unused NRB and RNRB band may be claimed to increment the current NRB and RNRB when the survivor dies.
***Rate reduced to 36% if at least 10% of the relevant estate is left to charity. Unlimited exemption for transfers between spouses/civil partners, except if UK domiciled transferor and foreign domiciled transferee, where maximum exemption £325,000.
100% Business Property Relief for shareholdings in qualifying unquoted trading companies, qualifying unincorporated businesses and certain farmland/buildings.
Reduced tax charge on gifts within 7 years before death
Years before death 0-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7
% of full death tax charge payable 100 80 60 40 20
Annual exemptions for lifetime gifts include £3,000 per donor and £250 per recipient.
Key dates and deadlines
Payment dates
Self-Assessment 2020/21 2019/20
1st payment on account 31 January 2021 2020
2nd payment on account 31 July 2021 2020
Balancing payment 31 January 2022 2021
Capital Gains Tax** 31 January 2022 2021
*UK residential property 2020/21: CGT due within 30 days of completion.
**Non-residents with gains on any UK land and buildings must pay CGT within 30 days of completion, except in 2019/20 when already filing a self assessment tax return.
Other payment dates
Class 1A NIC 19 July 2021 2020
Class 1B NIC 19 October 2021 2020
Corporation tax is due 9 months and 1 day from the end of the accounting period, unless a ·1arge' company paying by quarterly instalments.
2019/20 Filing deadlines
Issue P60s to employees 31 May 2020
P11D, P11D(b) 6 July 2020
Self Assessment Tax Return (SATR) paper version 31 October 2020
Online SATR if outstanding tax to be included in 2021/22 PAYE code 30 December 2020
Online SATR 31 January 2021
Non-resident CGT return is due within 30 days of completion of sale of UK land and buildings by a non-resident.
You are advised to consult us before acting on any information contained herein.
