There are several tax benefits available to entrepreneurs, but knowing whether you fulfil all of HMRC’s complex requirements means accessing detailed expertise. Our specialist entrepreneurial team focuses on ensuring entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals achieve greater returns by providing pragmatic, commercial tax advice.
Our specialist team differentiate themselves in the market by producing innovative investment structures that work for our entrepreneurial clients throughout the life of the investment and beyond. They will share their well-proven expertise, which includes:
Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) is a particularly attractive tax relief. Entrepreneurs’ Relief reduces the amount of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the disposal of qualifying business assets on or after 6 April 2008, allowing relief up to a maximum of £10m. However, there are strict conditions regarding who can qualify for ER and when claims can be made.
ER is generally aimed at individuals and is not available for companies, and the qualifying period is two years, up until when you disposed of the asset or an interest in the asset, or when the business ceased. The assets themselves must qualify too. Given the complexity of all the stipulations, we recommend you talk to us before making any decisions.
They listen hard to my blue-sky thinking and my plans and always have been a valuable sounding board about possible risks and implications. They’ve believed in me and my vision from the start and always articulate exactly what we need to do to realise my plans.
Graeme Lee, Founder and former Chief Executive, Springfield Healthcare Group
I see AAB as a partner. I know that they’ll always be there by my side to support what I need and that is very valuable to me, especially now as we go again to expand the group. Their advice has played a big part in our credibility and in our reputation as a solid, honourable, legitimate business offering quality care.
Graeme Lee, Founder and former Chief Executive, Springfield Healthcare Group
Faced with a tight deadline, AAB’s R&D experts quickly identified significant tax savings for us. They guided us through every step, ensuring qualifying projects were robustly documented. Thanks to their knowledge, we received substantial cash repayments within weeks—an impressive result for our business.
Robert Veitch, Managing Director, CV Labels Ltd
AAB has transformed the way we manage our R&D tax credits, streamlining our processes and maximising qualifying costs. Their professional input has simplified a complicated and time-consuming task, ensuring we capture all opportunities for relief while enhancing our R&D activities.
Sean Maxwell, Financial Controller, Western Brand Poultry Products (NI) Ltd
The AAB team set the gold standard for R&D tax credit support. From the start, they’ve acted as trusted advisors, taking the time to understand our technology and shaping our claims in a way that demonstrates future value to HMRC. Their expertise has made R&D credits a reliable source of funding, which is vital for a growing tech business like ours. Working with AAB has meant less stress, more confidence in our claims, and more time to focus on innovation. They just get what we’re trying to build- and that’s made all the difference.
Nish Kotecha, CEO Finboot
Ensuring your investment is structured correctly will give the most favourable tax results. Government-backed incentives such as Seed Enterprise Investment Relief (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Relief (EIS) can deliver generous tax breaks.
Seed EIS, designed for early-stage companies, offers an attractive 50% income tax relief, but the risks of investing in an embryonic company should be considered. EIS is aimed at established companies and people with more to invest. Investors benefit from a 30% income tax reduction based on the amount invested, any gains on disposal of qualifying EIS shares are free of capital gains tax and there’s loss relief if an EIS investment fails.
The qualifying conditions for both SEIS and EIS are notoriously complex, but we can advise on whether an investment opportunity meets those conditions and that you’ll benefit from these valuable tax reliefs.
A successful investment requires a motivated management team; implementing the most appropriate employee share incentive plan is fundamental to achieving this.
Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share schemes offer tax benefits that are very effective at incentivising employees. They are designed for SMEs, who also enjoy tax benefits. Employees are granted an option (or right) to acquire shares in the future, at today’s value. They’ll only pay income tax at exercise on the value of the shares when they were awarded, and the shares will be subject to a lower rate of CGT. of just 10%. Subject to certain conditions, there’s also no tax or NIC cost for employers, and they can benefit from corporation tax relief on employees’ sales of shares.
With the advice of our specialist advisors, planning for an exit can ensure you minimise your exposure to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and effectively mitigate Inheritance Tax (IHT).
If you’re considering making a risk-based investment in a trading company, we’ll determine the optimal structure and tax reliefs available. For example, we’ll ensure the availability of Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER), so that only 10% CGT is paid on any gains when the company is sold. We’ll also advise you on the most tax-efficient way to invest those proceeds, in areas such as pensions.
Minimising IHT is best achieved by planning before the sale of the business, rather than after it. We’ll advise on this, and other aspects such as trusts, to ensure you realise the greatest possible value both for you and, if applicable, for future generations.
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