When you’re disposing of a property, you’ll have to take certain things into consideration, from choosing an estate agent to sell the home, to deciding how much you want for it. You will also need to take Capital Gains Tax into consideration. Daniel Fallows, Director at landlord accountants, Gorilla Accounting,
Marco Verdonkschot, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, has commented on the potential impact of a second lockdown on the construction industry: “With rising case numbers and hospital admissions, the announcement of a second national lockdown was perhaps inevitable, but businesses will be hit hard once again. However,
Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd (LMB) has appointed Mike Hampton as Commercial Director to head up their new regional office based in Thorpe Park, Leeds. Mike is a seasoned industry executive who brings 20 years of masonry experience in the north and midlands to the business. Mike comments: “The opportunity to
No matter where you are in the world, you have likely been impacted somehow by the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe you know someone who contracted it. Maybe it’s impacted your job or the career of someone you love. While some parts of the globe are seeing yet another surge, there are
When you’re disposing of a property, you’ll have to take certain things into consideration, from choosing an estate agent to sell the home, to deciding how much you want for it. You will also need to take Capital Gains Tax into consideration. Daniel Fallows, Director at landlord accountants, Gorilla Accounting, takes a closer look at some of the finer details when it comes to Capital Gains Tax. What is Capital Gains Tax? This tax rule refers to the profit you make when you sell (or ‘dispose of’) an asset that increased in value. For example, if you bought a house for £120,000 and it later sold for £150,000, you made a gain of £30,000 – in essence, you pay tax on the gain you make, not on the amount of money you received. When it comes to Capital Gains Tax, ‘disposing of’ an asset can mean selling it, giving it away as a gift or transferring it to someone else, swapping it for something else, or getting compensation for it (for example, an insurance pay-out). Private Residence Relief While it’s true that you must pay Capital Gains Tax when disposing of a property, this is more directed at landlords than private homeowners. This is because you’re entitled to something called Private Residence Relief if you meet certain criteria. This Private Residence Relief means you won’t have to pay Capital Gains Tax if the following applies when selling or disposing of your home: You only have one home, and you’ve used it as your main home since it came into your possession. You’ve not let any part of it out (though this doesn’t include lodgers). You’ve not used part of the home for business only. The ground and any buildings within are less than 5,000 square metres in total You didn’t buy the home just to make a profit. If you can’t meet all these requirements, you may have to pay some tax. If you’re married or in a civil partnership, you can only count one property as your main home. Your Tax-Free Allowance Just like your income tax, you also have a tax-free allowance when it comes to Capital Gains Tax (called Annual Exempt Amount). In the tax year of 2020/21, your allowance is £12,300. According to the UK government, you also don’t typically pay Capital Gains Tax on gifts to your spouse or civil partner or to a charity, just as you don’t pay it on gains from ISAs, PEPs, bets, lottery wins, pool winnings, UK government gilts and Premium Bonds. Capital Gains Tax Rates If you pay 40% or 45% in income tax (meaning you pay a higher or additional rate), you’ll also have to pay 28% on your gains from residential property and 20% on your gains from other chargeable assets, like shares that aren’t on an ISA or PEP, business assets and most personal possessions worth £6,000 (except your car). These personal possessions include jewellery, paintings, antiques, coins and stamps. If, on the other hand, you’re a basic rate income taxpayer, the Capital Gains Tax you pay will depend on the amount of the gain itself, your taxable income and the type of asset you made a gain from. So, you’ll have to: Figure out the amount of taxable income you have Calculate your total taxable gains (work out the gain for each asset, add them together and deduct any allowable losses) Deduct your allowance Add the amount to your taxable income You’ll have to pay 18% of Capital Gains Tax if the resulting amount falls within the basic income tax band. Deadlines to Keep in Mind There is no specific time of year to pay Capital Gains Tax, considering each case is different. However, you have 30 days after the completion date to report and pay your tax on any property disposals after April 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, HMRC didn’t issue late filing penalties to transactions completed between 6 April 2020 and 30 June 2020 as long as the gain was reported, and the tax paid, by 31 July 2020. However, if you don’t pay Capital Gains Tax within 30 days of completion, you’ll be charged interest, as this wasn’t deferred. Reporting Capital Gains Tax In order to report and pay this tax, you need a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account. Once you have it, you can report the disposal of the property, pay any tax owed and view/change previous returns. If you don’t live in the UK, you have more to report, including: Any residential UK property or land you have (this includes any buildings on the land) Non-residential properties or land Mixed-use properties or land Rights to assets that get, at least, 75% of their value from land
Marco Verdonkschot, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, has commented on the potential impact of a second lockdown on the construction industry: “With rising case numbers and hospital admissions, the announcement of a second national lockdown was perhaps inevitable, but businesses will be hit hard once again. However, the construction industry is exempt from workplace closures and this will hopefully allow recent signs of recovery to continue. “Driven by increases in new work (17.5%), construction output rose by 3% in August (the latest data available) to nearly £12,500 million, marking the fourth successive month of growth for the industry. Such sustained growth is a healthy indicator of confidence returning to the sector, with companies across the UK willing to commission fresh projects. New private housing has been performing particularly well and will be boosted by the news that such work is unaffected by a second lockdown. “The Prime Minister also announced that the furlough scheme will be extended until December, with employees still receiving 80% of their salary. While the number of construction workers on furlough has been dropping rapidly each month – the quickest proportionate decrease across all sectors – the latest data shows that there were still over 275,000 people on the scheme in July. Therefore, the extension of the funding will be greatly welcomed by many in the industry. “Despite being able to continue operations, the second national lockdown will undoubtedly put extra strain on the construction industry and we may see the rate of recovery slow down further. “However, the sector is proving to be incredibly resilient and has shown this year that it can rebound strongly after challenging setbacks. The government’s announcement at the weekend has given the industry a chance to continue its growth and hopefully it can end the year in a strong position.” For more information about IronmongeryDirect, visit: www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/
Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd (LMB) has appointed Mike Hampton as Commercial Director to head up their new regional office based in Thorpe Park, Leeds. Mike is a seasoned industry executive who brings 20 years of masonry experience in the north and midlands to the business. Mike comments: “The opportunity to join one of the leading masonry companies in the UK was too good an opportunity to miss. There is huge potential in the north as masonry packages grow bigger and bigger and it shows great confidence in the region that LMB wants to become part of the Northern Power House story” LMB Director Dan Clarkson comments: “Mike is a great addition to our team. Many of our clients have been asking us to work in the region for some time but we have been waiting to recruit individuals that share our drive, commitment to quality and customer focus” LMB Managing Director Lee Marley commented “We have worked all over the country on major projects but it has always been an ambition of mine to have a permanent base in the region to create a bridge between our work in Scotland and the South and offer a comprehensive national masonry solution to our customers” LMB’s team includes operational and commercial management and will be focussing on large scale schemes that have become the company’s hallmark in Southern England and Scotland. The company has chosen Leeds as its base in the North of England because of its good transport links and highly skilled labour pool. With offices already in London, Reading and Glasgow, Leeds is the next step in their national expansion plan. Future business plans include working in partnership with local colleges and universities in the North of England to further develop LMB’s apprenticeship and graduate programmes. For more information about Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd, please visit: www.leemarley.com
No matter where you are in the world, you have likely been impacted somehow by the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe you know someone who contracted it. Maybe it’s impacted your job or the career of someone you love. While some parts of the globe are seeing yet another surge, there are certain industries that have to keep going in order to maintain some sense of normalcy. So far, the construction industry has been considered ‘essential’ in many different areas of the world. Things still need to get built. Deadlines and schedules need to be kept. Unfortunately, one recent study in the U.S. has found that construction workers might be at a greater risk of developing COVID-19. So, why the increased risk within the construction industry, and what can you do to keep your team safe? Why Are Workers at Risk? At the height of the pandemic, the BESA released new COVID-19 guidelines to keep engineering and construction firms safe. Like many other industries are discovering, however, no safety plan is foolproof. One of the biggest reasons why construction workers remain at high risk is because the industry remained in demand throughout the pandemic. Again, many construction projects needed to keep going and workers were considered essential. Whether a buyer needed a property report or actual building needed to be completed, the commercial real estate, construction, and design industries haven’t stopped. In many places across the globe, things have been so uncertain for so long that it has been hard to keep up with changes in rules, regulations, and policies. Amidst that confusion, it has likely been easy for those in the construction field to make a few missteps in keeping themselves safe. Close Confines on Construction Sites If you work in the industry, or you’ve been on a job site before, it’s easy to think you’re safe from the threat of any virus, considering you spend the majority of your time outside. But, think about how close you can get throughout the day to your fellow workers. You might need to give them instructions or receive some from someone else. You may be touching the same tools and building materials as someone else. Construction workers often go from job to job, too. That can easily increase the spread of the virus, even if just one worker is carrying it from site to site. Simply put, there are plenty of ways in which the virus can be passed at a job site, which may also be contributing to the greater risk for those in construction. What Can Be Done Now? Thankfully, the precautions necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 haven’t changed much over the last few months. If you are in charge of a job site, you should make it your top priority to keep everyone safe. If you are a worker, it is your own responsibility to take precautions and keep yourself safe while doing what you can to reduce the spread to others. The most important thing you can do is to make sure everyone on the site is practicing social distancing as much as possible. That may not always feel realistic when working on a job. But, if it means extending a deadline to keep your workers safe, that’s what needs to be done. Having fewer people on the site is a great place to start. Additionally, anyone who is there should be wearing a mask at all times. This is one of the best and easiest ways to reduce the spread of COVID, and it’s a small price to pay for keeping everyone healthy. Contract tracing should also be done among workers. If one employee is exposed to the virus, everyone needs to be made aware and the right procedures need to be put in place. That’s especially important for workers who go to different job sites to work. Does that mean some of your workers will have to quarantine for a while? It’s likely. However, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Not putting these precautions in place could trigger an outbreak among your employees. Information like this isn’t meant to scare anyone. The construction industry certainly isn’t the only one facing these ‘surges’ and rising case numbers. Almost any profession that requires people to work closely with one another is at a greater risk of spreading the virus. But, if the construction industry wants to stay afloat, guidelines need to be taken seriously and construction firms need to have their own sets of rules in place that are designed to keep everyone safe.
