Income from self-employment Flashcards
What is a trading income?
- the profits of an unincorporated trader arising form a trade, profession or vocation
Who is referred as self-employed or sole traders?
- individuals with an unincorporated business
What means current year basis? (CYB)
- the profits assessed in a tax year are those of the twelve month period of account ending in that tax year
What is known as badges of trade?
- to determine whether an individual is trading, a number of tests
What are badges of trade SOFIRM and FAST?
- S- the subject matter of the transaction
(are the goods of a type normally used for trading?) - O - the length of the period of ownership
(a short period of ownership is more likely to indicate trading) - F- the frequency of similar transactions by the same person
(frequent transactions indicate trading) - I - supplementary work, improvements and marketing
(work performed on goods to make them more marketable indicates trading - R- the circumstances/reason for the sale
(a forced sale to raise cash indicates not trading) - M - motive
(intention to profit may indicate trading) - Finance F
- where the taxpayer took out a loan to buy the asset which he, she of they expects to repay from the proceeds of sale
- Method of acquisition A
- where the taxpayer acquired the asset by way of purchase rather than receiving it as a gift or by inheritance
- Existence of similar trading transactions ST
- where the transactions are similar to those of an existing trade carried on by the taxpayer
Subject matter of the transaction
Asset has been acquired for one of three reasons:
- an investment
capital in nature and not subject to income tax
- goods for private use of individual (or family)
no subject to tax
- trade inventory
a trading transaction and subject to income tax
The length of the period of ownership
- the longer the period between acquisition and disposal, the more likely the transaction will not be treated as trading
What are the four types of adjustment that need to be made to move from accounting profit to the tax adjusted trading profit?
- Expenditure which tax law prevents from being an allowable deduction may be charged in the statement of profit or loss
- add back to accounting profit - Taxable trading income may not be included in the statement of profit or loss
- add to accounting profit - Expenditure that is deductible for tax purposes may not charged in the statement of profit or loss
- deduct from accounting profit - Income may be included in the statement of profit of loss that is not taxable as trading income
- deduct from accounting profit
Pro forma - Tax adjusted trading profit
Net profit accounts x
Add:
Expenditure not allowed for taxation purposes x
Expenditure allowable for taxation purposes 0
Taxable trading profit not credited in the accountsx
Less:
Expenditure not charged in the accounts but allowable for taxation purposes x
Income included in the accounts that is not taxable as trading profit x
Capital allowances x
What is the general rule to follow in deciding whether expenditure is an allowable deduction from trading profits?
- is that only expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade is allowable
When expenditure may be disallowed?
- it is too remote from the purposes of the trade - the remoteness test
- it has more than one purpose and one of them is not trading - the duality principle
What are the appropritions?
- are the withdrawal of funds from a business (i.e. profit extraction rather than expenses incurred in earning them) and, as such, are disallowed expenses
What are the most common examples for appropriations?
- interest paid to the owner on capital invested in the business
- salary/drawings taken by a sole trader or partner
- any private element of expenditure relating to the owner’s car, telephone etc.
Excessive salary paid to a sloe trader’s family
- any salary paid to the family of the owner o an unincorporated business is allowable provided it is not excessive
- it must be remuneration at the commercial rate for the work performed
Is interest payable allowable trading expenses - accrual basis
- yes, interest on borrowings such as business account overdrafts, credit cards, hire purchase contracts
- not interest for HMRC late payments…
Capital expenditure
- is not allowable trading expense
- any form of depreciation, loss - not allowable
- revenue expenditure - allowable