The journal
Every article (172)
Page 3 of 15
- Business ownersPlanning a Business Sale: What to Do in the Years Before You SellTwo sellers can receive the same headline price and keep very different amounts. The difference is mostly decided before the sale. Share or asset sale, reliefs, earn-outs and what happens after: what to plan, and when.
- Holding companies and demergersSetting Up a Holding Company Above a Trading Company: Process, Clearances and Stamp DutyA holding company is a decision, not a default. Here is how one is placed above a trading company, which clearances matter, what stamp duty applies and how long it takes.
- Family Investment CompaniesWhat a Family Investment Company Costs to Run, and Its DisadvantagesA Family Investment Company (FIC) has real ongoing duties and several built-in tax costs. Here is what you must file each year, where the drawbacks sit, and when a FIC is not worth it.
- Holding companies and demergersCapital Reduction or Liquidation Demerger: Choosing the Right RouteBoth routes can split a company without a tax charge on the reorganisation. The real differences are cost, reserves, timing and what happens to the old company.
- Holding companies and demergersDemergers and Business Asset Disposal Relief: What to Check Before You StartA demerger can protect Business Asset Disposal Relief on a later sale or put it at risk. Trading status, the two-year test and your role in each company all matter.
- Holding companies and demergersDoes a Holding Company Increase Your Corporation Tax? The Associated Companies Rule ExplainedA new holding company can halve the profit limits for the small profits rate. Here is what that costs at 2026/27 rates, with worked figures, and when a holding company escapes the rule.
- Family Investment CompaniesFICs and the April 2026 Business Relief Changes: What Applies to YouBusiness Relief now has a cap. Here is which of the 6 April 2026 changes touch a Family Investment Company, and which do not.
- Holding companies and demergersFinance Act 2026: The New Main Purpose Test for Demergers and Share ExchangesFrom 26 November 2025 the commercial reasons test for share exchanges and reconstructions has become a main purpose test. What changed and what it means for a demerger.
- Family Investment CompaniesFive Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up a Family Investment CompanyCash gifts to the company, shares for under-18s, retained benefits, the corporation tax rate and weak governance: five FIC errors and how to avoid them.
- Family Investment CompaniesFunding a Family Investment Company with a Loan: How It WorksLending to your Family Investment Company gives you a way back to your money. What repayments are, what stays in your estate, and the traps to avoid.
- Business ownersHow Earn-Outs, Loan Notes and Deferred Payments Are Taxed When You SellFew buyers pay everything in cash on day one. Here is how cash, earn-outs, loan notes and deferred payments are each taxed, and the traps sellers should avoid.
- Business ownersHow Much Surplus Cash Is Too Much? Protecting Trading Status for BADR, SSE and Business ReliefCash piling up in a company or group can quietly put three valuable reliefs at risk. How HMRC judges trading status, the 20% indicator, excepted assets and what to do about it.
Free guide
The Inheritance Tax Planning Guide
Gifts, trusts, reliefs and Family Investment Companies, explained in plain English by a Chartered Tax Adviser.
