Income shifting or splitting is a perfectly legitimate form of tax planning, provided you are careful not to overstep the mark and trigger tax anti-avoidance rules.
Most commonly, the basic aim is to redistribute assets which produce taxable income to other family members with a view to changing income distribution patterns and thereby access the lower tax rates and unused tax allowances that may be available to the wider family.
The following is a basic example:
Jane owns a Ltd company in Ambleside which makes £80,000 profit in the year ending 31st March 2019.
After payment of Corporation Tax the company is left with £64,800 that could be paid to shareholders.
If Jane is the sole shareholder and the whole £64,800 is paid to her in the 2018/19 tax year (and assuming Jane has a full personal allowance available, no other income, and no tax deductible expenditure) her personal tax liability on that income would be £8433.75
However, if Jane was to introduce her spouse to the business (and assuming he has a full personal allowance available, no other income, and no tax deductible expenditure) and the £64,800 was then split equally between them, the total tax liability for the both of them would be £2782.50.
A simple bit of tax planning, but it saves the family £5651.25 in tax!
The same effect can be achieved with an unincorporated businesses.
It is also possible to reduce other taxes – such as Capital Gains Tax or Inheritance Tax – in a similar manner.
If you think you’re paying more tax than you should give me a call on 01539 432540 arrange a free initial consultation or email me at [email protected].