It’s no secret that, in today’s climate, more and more first-time buyers are turning to the bank of mum and dad when looking to get their foot on the property ladder. House prices have increased steadily over the last few years, with the average UK property costing a whopping £226,071 as of November 2017 – an increase of 5.1% over the previous year.
Archives for April 2018
+ more under one roof… RfM now provides mortgage services
Hot on the heels of the launch of RfM Legal Services, we have more exciting news to share with you. You can now call upon RfM for help with a range of mortgage matters, including remortgages* and funding for commercial property.
Applying for a mortgage when you are self-employed
Getting a mortgage can be a challenge at the best of times. For the UK’s nearly five million self-employed people, the process is even more difficult, but that’s not to say it is impossible… [Read more…]
Inheritance Tax planning and reliefs
Inheritance Tax (IHT) at a rate of 40% may be charged on the estate when someone dies, unless it has been left to a spouse or civil partner. When planning to mitigate the impact of IHT, there are a number of key points and tax reliefs to bear in mind.
Paying dividends – getting it right
Many owner-managed companies use dividends as a means to extract cash from the business. The practice of paying dividends has been attracting more and more attention from HMRC. Getting it wrong can have expensive tax consequences – so what is the right way to do it?
The death of a spouse – ISAs and the Marriage Allowance rules
Personal finance experts estimate that almost nine out of ten savers may be missing out when a spouse or civil partner dies because they are not aware of the rules for ISAs and the Marriage Allowance.
New tax rates and bands
An increase in the personal allowance, set out in the UK Budget, came into effect on 6 April 2018. Changes to the basic rate threshold mean taxpayers in England can also earn more before the higher rate of tax kicks in. The story is slightly different for Scotland and Wales. Here we give you the headline figures.
Social care sector wakes up to news on NMW for sleep-in shifts
Employers in the social care sector have had mixed messages from HMRC as to whether National Minimum Wage (NMW) should be paid to workers carrying out sleep-in shifts. It has now been made clear that NMW does apply in such cases.
Plans to abolish Class 2 National Insurance delayed
The government’s plans to abolish Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NIC) have been put on hold for another 12 months.