Chapelton Financial

SPOTLIGHT ON: Divorce and tax: What you need to consider

Divorce or the end of a civil partnership often involves difficult personal and financial decisions. Tax may not be the first point on the list, but it can change the real value of a settlement.

A proposed division of assets may look fair on paper. The after tax position may be different if one person receives an asset with a built in gain, moves out of the family home, takes over a property with a mortgage, receives a pension share or becomes responsible for Child Benefit.

This guide sets out the main UK tax points to consider. It does not replace legal advice, and each case depends on the facts, the timing and the wording of the financial agreement. The important point is to check the tax position before signing a settlement, rather than after the assets have moved.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Salary sacrifice in 2026/27

Salary sacrifice can be a useful way to reduce tax and National Insurance, increase pension savings and access certain employee benefits at a lower net cost.

Used well, it can reduce the tax and National Insurance paid on some benefits, preserve allowances that would otherwise be lost, and help build pension savings more efficiently. Used without care, it can reduce statutory pay, affect mortgage affordability or leave you tied into an arrangement that no longer suits your plans.

This guide explains how salary sacrifice works in the 2026/27 tax year, where the savings sit, the pension changes due from April 2029, and the practical points to check before agreeing to an arrangement.

SPOTLIGHT ON: E-invoicing: What UK businesses should do now

E-invoicing is moving from a software choice to a compliance and finance planning issue.

The government has confirmed that e-invoicing will become mandatory for all VAT invoices from April 2029. HMRC and the Department for Business and Trade are due to publish an implementation roadmap at Budget 2026, setting out the milestones businesses should expect before the mandate takes effect.

This gives businesses time to prepare, but it also means 2026/27 is a useful year to review invoicing processes, customer and supplier data, software, payment terms and VAT controls. Waiting until the final year may create avoidable cost, disruption and pressure.

This guide explains what e-invoicing is, why the UK is moving in this direction and what businesses should plan before the Budget roadmap is published.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Associated company rules: Protecting your corporation tax thresholds

Running more than one limited company is common for many owner-managers. You might have a trading company alongside a property company, a separate company for a different service line, a holding company above the group, or an old company kept for a brand name.

Each company may have made sense when it was set up. The issue is what happens when the corporation tax rules look at those companies together.

Since 1 April 2023, the UK has used a tiered corporation tax system. The thresholds that decide whether a company pays the 19% small profits rate, the 25% main rate, or a rate (due to marginal relief) between the two can be divided between associated companies. The more associated companies there are, the lower each company’s thresholds become.

This guide explains how the rules apply to accounting periods falling within the corporation tax financial year starting 1 April 2026, who counts as an associated company, and the practical steps that can help protect your position.

SPOTLIGHT ON:
Director’s loans: How to stay clear of unwanted tax charges

Many business owners withdraw funds from their companies beyond salary and dividends at some point. It could cover a short-term personal cost, help with a property deposit, or bridge the gap between dividend declarations.

That flexibility can be useful, but director’s loan accounts come with tax rules that are easy to underestimate. If the balance is not managed properly, the company may face a section 455 tax charge, the director may have a taxable benefit, and HMRC may challenge repayments that appear to be short-term fixes.

The rules matter even more in 2026/27 because the section 455 rate has increased for new loans made from 6 April 2026.

This guide explains how director’s loan accounts work, when tax charges arise, and what practical steps can help keep the position under control.

SPOTLIGHT ON:
Working abroad: Getting your UK tax residence right

Spending time abroad for work has become much more common. You might be moving for a posting, taking a permanent role overseas, working remotely from another country, or returning to the UK after several years away.

What often surprises people is how far UK tax can follow them. Leaving the country does not automatically make you a non-UK resident, and becoming a non-resident does not always remove you from the UK tax system completely.

This guide explains how UK tax residence works in 2026/27, what can still be taxable in the UK when you live abroad, and the planning points to consider before you leave, while you are overseas, or before you return.

SPOTLIGHT ON: How SMEs can get ready for e-invoicing

E-invoicing has moved from a back-office improvement to a planning issue for UK businesses. The government has said that all VAT invoices will need to be issued as e-invoices from April 2029. In practice, that mainly affects business-to-business and business-to-government VAT invoices, rather than ordinary business-to-consumer sales. The detailed UK roadmap and standards are still being developed, which means there is time to prepare, but it also means businesses should start with the basics rather than wait for the final rulebook.

For many SMEs, the sensible response is not to rush into a full system change. It is to get the foundations right now: invoice data, VAT treatment, software capability, customer and supplier records, approval steps, and payment controls. A business that tidies those areas early will be in a much stronger position when the UK regime is finalised.

That matters because e-invoicing is often misunderstood. In HMRC research published in March 2026, 59% of VAT-registered SMEs said they were familiar with e-invoicing, but only 29% said they actually used it. The same research found that the most common invoicing method was still PDF or email, followed by paper or physical mail. That gap matters because sending a PDF by email is not the same as structured e-invoicing.