📍 Tax advantages for Employing your spouse💘📍

Clearly, you know the person well, and therefore all the concerns about trust (should) go out the window.

From a financial point-of-view, there are certain benefits that you can achieve through employing a spouse. Let’s take a look at some of them now;

💭Use up your Tax Allowance!

Almost everyone living in the UK is entitled to an Income Tax Allowance; “the amount of income you can receive each year, without having to pay tax on it”. For the majority of the working public, this figure currently stands at £12,570 (2021/22).

By employing a spouse, you can make sure that your partner is using up all of this non-taxable income. If they do a job for free, pay them! After-all, its money going into your household – that isn’t getting taxed. Just think; how much would it cost to employ a non-family member to do the same job?

💭 Higher Rate Business – Split your profits

On a similar note; directors of a business which pays a higher rate of tax can also benefit from taking on a spouse, by making them “more than just an employee.”

If your spouse were to become a shareholder in the company, for example, you can pay yourselves a mixture of salary & dividends, and make use of the £2,000 dividend tax free band (2021/22), thereby reducing your overall tax bills quite considerably. Not only this, but once again, more money going into your household.

📢However, becoming a shareholder of a company can mean other rights are attached to this, so we would recommend you seek legal advice first before giving away shares.

💭Save on National Insurance costs

If you are a 'director only business' with no other employees and you pay an additional employee or spouse £8,840, the employment allowance can be claimed through the payroll at a total of £4,000 for the tax year, giving relief on Employers NI.

💭Don’t get caught out!

It is important that your spouse is treated like a “normal” employee. Just because you are in a personal relationship with them, it doesn’t mean you can exploit them for your own gain.

The National Minimum Wage rules therefore still apply, and your spouse must actually be paid what they are owed (and are thus affordable to you). Just like with a normal employee, if your spouse is not involved in any other paid employment the normal new employee process must be followed.

To avoid any unwelcome visits/checks from HMRC; make sure that your spouse is employed to do a “proper” job within your organisation.

💭Employing a spouse could be a good tax saving idea

All in all, employing a spouse can often be a worthwhile venture for your business. There are many tax benefits (some listed above), that can be realised from doing so but it is essential that if you are thinking about taking on your husband/wife as an employee of your company that you do things by-the-book.

Please note, all our content is for general guideline only, every case is different and we would recommend speaking to us before taking any action as a result of the content. The content was correct at the time it was published. 

To protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people was how the Spring Budget was marketed. So how will the latest Budget announcements help Recruiters?

Covid-19 Support Packages

• The latest Budget brings in an extension to the CJRS (Furlough scheme) until the 30th September 2021 with the intention this will save more jobs. The eligibility for the furlough scheme has also been amended to include, from 1 May 2021 onwards newly eligible employees who were employed on 2 March 2021, as long as a payment of earnings was reported on RTI between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021.

• There will be a new business support loan scheme running from April 2021 until the end of the year. This scheme will offer loans of between £25,000 and £10mil. However, these will only be 80% guaranteed and likely to be on preferential terms. The scheme will be open to all businesses, including those who have already received support under the existing Covid-19 guaranteed loan schemes.

• An extension and increase to the payments made to employers in England who hire new apprentices of all ages. Employers who hire a new apprentice between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 will receive £3,000 per new hire.

• Contactless payments will be rising to £100 once businesses have had the chance to update their systems.

Taxes

• Any business that took advantage of the original VAT deferral on VAT returns from 20 March through to the end of June 2020 can now opt to use the VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme to pay that deferred VAT in up to eleven equal payments from March 2021, rather than one larger payment due by 31 March 2021. For more info and to sign up visit here

• Personal allowances are frozen at current rates until 2026.

• Companies will be able to carry any losses occurring in 2020-21 and 2021-22 back three years to offset against profits instead of one.

• Current Corporation tax rates to remain the same until March 2023. Then from April 2023, the Corporation tax remains at 19% for business profits under £50,000 only. This will be s slight increase in the rates for profits between 50,000 and £250,000 up to a maximum of 25% for profits earned over £250,000. We will be looking into how this will work when further information is released.

• A capping the amount of SME payable R&D tax credit that a business can receive in any one year at £20,000 (plus three times the company’s total PAYE and NICs liability).

• There was no mention of IR35 or off-payroll working tax in the Budget and a further delay is not expected. The Finance Act will be published on 15 March.

• Unfortunately there was no support offered for small limited companies which are yet to receive any help at all.

The Recruitment Industry plays a huge part in accelerating recovery and boosting UK productivity. These recent months have only reinforced the importance of quality recruitment services. This Budget Summary touches on some of the key areas we think are relevant to Recruiters. If you would like any further information on the topics covered or anything else raised in the March Budget, please do get in touch!

Cooper Curtis help Recruiters earn more money by getting better systems in place and freeing up their time. If you would like to chat with us to see if our services can help you, please click the button to book a 10-minute chat.

In our initial chat we will;

• Identify your current business worries and frustrations

• Establish if our proven methods can help

  your Recruitment business

• If we believe we can add value to your business,

  arrange a longer call to develop an action plan
  

Whilst we have been quiet on our socials, behind the scenes we have been providing support to our Recruitment clients wherever possible. It has been a very challenging year for many in the Recruitment Industry. The uncertainty has raised doubt on businesses planning for growth and the need to be more cautious in an uncertain environment has seen a dip in new roles and reluctance from candidates to make a move.

We have been assisting our clients with;

• Helping with applications for government grants and loans

• Ensuring Staff furlough claims are dealt with correctly

• Showing Accountants can be human by reaching out and offering support

• Taking more of the workload from them to free up time to focus on business

• Cash-flow reviews and business forecasts 2021 and onward

If you feel that you are not getting enough support from your Advisers or find yourself getting weighed down with changing government rules and new legislation, book a 10-minute chat with us here to see how we can help ….

You will now be aware that in these challenging business times, getting a grip on your cash flow can help navigate your post-pandemic Recruitment business.

Whatever the changes that may be happening in your business, first establish the facts; ‘Where is your business at now?’ Plan carefully, and don’t forget to include the impact of any deferred tax payments.

Your business model could now be facing a complete overhaul. Here are 3 things to consider to help ease cash-flow worries;

This video is aimed at Recruitment Agencies looking at ways to ease cash-flow issues. For further information on this topic and to chat with us. please visit...

1. Negotiate retainer fees from clients. This will help bridge the gap between placing the candidate and getting paid.

2. You may be a perm now considering moving into the temps market… Or a Recruiter who is reliant on cash reserves finding these now depleted and considering using a finance company. A note of caution, when deciding which finance company to use, read any terms and conditions very carefully.

3. Get better processes in place. The downtime you may have been experiencing could be a good excuse to explore new technology and get business chaos into order.

For help with cash flow planning and getting your business in order, book a 10 minute chat with us…

In our initial chat we will;

• Identify your current business worries and frustrations

• Establish if our proven methods can help your Recruitment business

• If we believe we can add value to your business, arrange a longer call to develop an action plan
  

No, I’m not going to write about the dreaded new ‘C’ Word today, as you’ve probably like me received dozens of e-mails already on that topic!

As my Clients have been asking me about what they should do now, what I am writing about today is how you can help your own business over the next few weeks until further financial support is available to you.

Cashflow Management is the Key.

Consider the impact of the following;-

·         Customers paying more slowly –and not just the small ones!

·         Bad Debts due to business failure.

·         Fewer new customers.

·         Risk of customers moving to lower priced competitors.

·         Customers asking for lower prices because their profits are hit.

·         Look at payment terms.

·         Offer customers more time to pay.

·         Cut out non-essential expenditure.

·         Delay capital purchases.

·         Finance all capital purchases.

·         Avoid discretionary costs.

·         Contact your bank –if you have an overdraft, can it be converted into a loan?

·         Loan holidays.

·         Alternative funding for the business

·         Bookkeeping, VAT and Payroll –can our accountant help us?

Of course, some of these points have been considered in the latest March Budget and subsequent briefings but until further support in the shape of Grants and Low-interest Loans etc. reach you via Government Bodies and Local Authorities, please bear these points in mind and hopefully we will soon be permanently free of, at least this, ‘C’ Word!

Ar Cooper Curtis we have worked with Companies developing their plans and not just the financials, which are important, but also helping them to maximising their true potential.

When you started your recruitment venture, be it recently or a while ago, you probably started with one key thing in mind – making yourself more money than you earned as an employed fee-earner. This is a common thought from a lot of recruiters.

There’s no getting away from it, it’s a journey and, to make that journey work for you, you have to overcome many obstacles on the way.

In the early years of working for yourself, you have issues including;

1. Getting started and putting systems into place. Getting to grips with business finances.

2. Not having a proper business strategy.

3. Working Long hours and having little time off

As you progress on your journey there will be the need for ;

1. An office to house staff and to raise the profile of the business

2. Growing your business and taking on Admin and more fee-earners

3. Bigger systems, and the need for having the best tech

As you become established and are getting transformational growth, you may wish to consider;

1. Your future outside of recruitment –do I have an exit plan in place?

2. Can I make a tidy sum by selling my business to capitalise on my success?

3. Do I feel good about what I have achieved so far?

Over these series of blogs, I will be giving you the benefit of my many years of experience working with small to medium sized recruitment firms and helping them in all these areas to achieve their success.

If you think Cooper Curtis could help you on your journey, book your ten minute chat with a Recruitment Agency Business Advisor here.