Nicholsons Chartered Accountants are an accountancy, consultancy, marketing and financial services provider based in Lincolnshire
Nicholsons Chartered Accountants and Financial Advisors – Lincoln
Working with Nicholsons is not like working with other accountants. In addition to ensuring your numbers add up and your tax liability is minimised we work with business owners, helping them to achieve their goals and aspirations. Like a member of your team we add expertise, experience and knowledge in small bite sized pieces and promise never to use terms like "add value" which don't really mean anything!
To learn more about our team, credentials and what our clients think about how we measure up please take a tour of our site perhaps starting on our services page.
Whilst you are here you can also catch up with the latest tax news, read our partners views on business and finance by visiting their blogs and update your general business knowledge through our "I would like more information on" fact sheets.
Small Business Software
Would you like to use an online software application that makes keeping track of your finances as easy as 1-2-3? Nicholsons have teamed up with XERO software to offer clients an unrivaled small business service. To learn more contact Richard Hallsworth
Latest News From Nicholsons
Time Running out on Retirement at 65
Nicholsons Chartered Accountants are reporting that in a bid to squeeze the last possible penny out of taxpayers, HMRC is scrutinising Land Registry data on house purchases and sales to check people are not avoiding tax.
Richard Grayson, Business Development Partner at the firm said: “This is affecting those who receive a gift or inheritance to buy a property, or who use this money to pay a sizeable amount off their mortgages.
“Figures released last month show that HMRC is actively targeting estates and beneficiaries for underpayment of inheritance tax (IHT). Last year, the taxman investigated 9,368 house price valuations and clawed back almost £70 million in IHT.”
IHT is levied at 40 per cent where the assets, minus any debt, of a person’s estate exceed £325,000, or £650,000 for couples. Estate beneficiaries, who are often the children and families of the deceased, face penalties of up to 100 per cent of the additional tax liability, in addition to the tax due, if HMRC investigates an IHT property valuation and finds it is incorrect because sufficient care was not taken in obtaining it.
If a property is sold for less than the valuation, the estate can come back and ask for the value to be revised. Executors and beneficiaries are being advised to get several valuations from professional valuers or chartered surveyors.
HMRC has said that it would open an inquiry based on a series of risk factors; part of the remit of an inquiry would be to check whether the declared income correlated to the individual’s lifestyle. In the case of gifts, they would look for evidence such as a copy of the donor’s bank statement.
When giving gifts, it is suggested that donors pay by bank transfer and have supporting documentation to give to their lawyer and accountant, as many people will have no provable record of giving gifts to children or grandchildren. Gifts of unlimited amounts can be given free of tax if the donor lives for another seven years.
For more information contact Jeannine Peta Thornley on 0845 276 6555.