Here are the main questions we ask our clients before making a recommendation:

1. ARE YOU MAKING TAX LOSSES?

Yes - If you are a Sole Trader in your first 4 tax years of trading you can offset these losses against other taxable income from the previous 3 tax years.

1. 4 Years - If you are in the first 4 years of your business and make a loss, you can use this loss to reduce your tax bill in the previous 3 years, such as from the job you had before you set up your business. You will receive a tax refund.

2. £5,725 - If your profits are lower than £5,725, you don't have to pay the annual £140 Class 2 NI, unless you need a credit towards your state pension. Ask for a repayment for earlier years.

3. £7,755 - If your profits are higher than £7,755, you will pay 9% Class 4 NI. This gets you no state benefits and effectively increases your tax rate from the 20% income tax rate to a total 29% tax rate.

Marriage and civil partnerships are provided with many reliefs within the tax system and I'm surprised why people claim otherwise.

Business Partnerships

Where one spouse is a partner, it's very often the case that their spouse gets involved in the business later on, for example, a wife decides to stay at home when the children are young and instead of working for a third party, helps out in her husband's business.

With its tax reliefs improving over recent years, Research & Development claims should be given more attention.

For SMEs, when you spend £100 on R&D, your corporation tax is not only reduced by the £100 you've spent, but also by an additional £125, taking the total deduction against your company bill to £225.

If you're paying 20% corporation tax, you've saved additional tax of £25 (£125 @ 20%), taking total tax saved to £45 (£225 @ 20%).