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It is only possible to get tax relief on mortgage interest, not any capital repayments. Where you have a repayment mortgage, you need to determine the interest element.

An important issue here and one that needs immediate thought if it applies to you!. From 6 April 2011 you are generally restricted to paying £50,000 in annual pension contributions, (Whether these are paid by you, your employer or a third party). This is substantially lower than the £255,000 annual allowance for this year which ends on 5 April 2011.

Inheritance tax is paid on estates worth more than £325,000. However, if 10% of an estate above this limit is given to charity the rate of inheritance tax payable on the balance is to be cut from 40% to 36% from next April.

I have just been reading an interesting announcement issued by the government at the end of last month. Individuals and non-corporate bodies who own works of art could soon benefit from donating these to the nation, with a reduction in their personal tax liability. This is an encouraging development from the reduction in Inheritance Tax already announced for donations from someones estate.

Did you receive your July statement from HMRC?

If you have received your copy in August HMRC have confirmed that they will not charge interest on the second payment on account (normally due by 31 July) if payment is received by 27 September 2011.

The announcement that Mr Gaines-Cooper has lost his case at the Supreme Court last week has resulted in a number of headlines about the issue. The case went on for a long while, arguing that mere day counting for determining an individuals tax residency status is not enough and the IR20 Residents and non-residents leaflet should be looked at as a whole. They key point that was determined was the an individual should have a 'distinct break' in the pattern of their life in the UK in order to become non-resident. It is at this point that the day count is considered when looking at an individuals UK residency status.

I have just heard the announcement that the statutory residency test (SRT) that was due to take effect from 6 April 2012 has been delayed a year. This means that some of the issues that were raised in the consultation can be addressed further. This gives enough time for the key concerns to be reviewed with a view that the rules will be included in the Finance Bill 2013.

If all of us advised our own parents and older relatives to visit their lawyer to get a family MOT I am sure that a lot of problems that are faced much later on with Wills, Powers of Attorney, paying for long-term care or Inheritance Tax, could be resolved without too much fuss or bother. If our parents and grandparents have the right legal documents prepared for when the rainy day comes calling, everyone can sleep soundly.

It has been announced that HM Revenue & Customs will be extending the normal 30 day deadline to which tax payers can appeal late penalty notices to 31 March. This is to help with the expected increase in their phone lines over the next few weeks with some individuals not being able to get through to an adviser.

If you received a penalty letter from HM Revenue & Customs then do not panic. HM Revenue & Customs have admitted that over 17,000 final reminder letters have been sent out in error. It would appear from reports that I have read that the incorrect notices relate to individuals who made their payments in December but had yet to be allocated correctly on HM Revenue & Customs system.

It is good news for individuals who earn over £150,000. Today it was announced that from 6 April 2013, the top rate of tax will reduce from 50p to 45p. Sadly, there has been no mention of the personal allowance being made available again to individuals who earn over £100,000 so those with income of that level will still continue to lose their allowances.

One of the biggest changes announced was the way that Child Benefits are to be withdrawn. As part of the budget the government have reintroduced the availability of claiming Child Benefits for households where someone earns up to £60,000. The amount of Child Benefit will be gradually reduced by way of an income tax charge where the individual earns between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum.

From 6 April 2012 self-employed teachers will now be regarded as such for both Income Tax and National Insurance purposes. This is a change from the previous treatment where you would have paid Income Tax under self-assessment but the school would have deducted Class 1 National Insurance through their payroll system.

We are providing tax advice to companies and partnerships with corporate members who have purchased residential properties for more than £2m as they are now being charged 15 per cent Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). The Chancellor announced the increase, from 5 per cent, in his Budget on 21 March 2012 and it is important that the higher rate charge is taken into consideration by investors. However, there are exclusions for companies acting in their capacity as trustees for a settlement and property developers who meet certain conditions.