Most companies we review are paying more tax than the law requires — not because of anything clever they failed to do, but because ordinary reliefs were never claimed and decisions were made without considering their tax cost.
Claim every capital allowance you are entitled to
Qualifying capital expenditure on plant, machinery, buildings, motor vehicles and furniture attracts initial and annual allowances. A fixed asset register that reconciles to the accounts, with invoices retained, is what turns that entitlement into a deduction the tax authority accepts.
Get deductible expenses right
Expenses are deductible when wholly, reasonably, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purposes of the trade. Poor documentation, not ineligibility, is the usual reason expenses are disallowed on audit.
- Keep third-party invoices and evidence of payment for every material expense
- Separate owner and company expenditure completely
- Deduct and remit WHT on qualifying payments — undeducted WHT can cost you the deduction
- Document related-party transactions and pricing
Use loss relief and timing
Trade losses can be carried forward and set against future profits of the same trade. Timing of expenditure, asset acquisition and revenue recognition therefore has a real cash-tax effect, particularly around a year end.
Consider incentives and structure
Pioneer status under the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act, sector-specific incentives, and the structure of your group and remuneration arrangements can materially change your effective rate. These have to be planned in advance — none of them can be applied retrospectively.
Document the position
Any planning that cannot be explained on a single page to a tax officer is a liability. We document the legal basis for each position taken so that it survives review years later.
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