Most US tax payers overpay their taxes.
The 2015 IRS tax code has 74,608 pages, and it is constantly changing.
You should always pay your tax bill.
You should never pay a bill that isn’t yours to pay.
Here’s how it works.

Don’t just send your numbers to your CPA firm and wait to get your tax news. I’m involved in conversations with the owners and executives of early education companies most every day. Many times I hear that these smart, successful people are not telling their CPAs about expenses that can be written-off on their company tax returns. Here are some of the most commonly missed.

1. Software / Subscriptions:

In some years, the IRS has allowed this item to be expensed in one year. In others, it has been allowed under Depreciation. If you are trying in increase the market value of your EEC (Early Education Company), ask your CPA if it can be included in Depreciation. Part of increasing the market value of your EEC (Early Education Company), is creating the highest EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) possible. Subscriptions to magazines can be deducted as well. It may not seem like a lot of money to worry about, but none us drive down the street throwing $100 bills out the window. Tell your CPA. Keep the money.

2. Auto Expense:

You have three options here.

1. Mileage – This is an easy one to skip, because nobody wants to keep up with it. However, the IRS allows write-offs for mileage, tolls and parking. The 2015 IRS mileage reimbursement rate is 57.5 cents per mile.

2. If your company is leasing a car for you, you can deduct the lease payments.

3. If your company is buying the car, you can deduct the interest on the car loan and depreciation on the vehicle.

3. Home Office:

The key to this one is that you must have a room or part of a room that is designated solely as your office. Your CPA should ask you what percentage of your home is “office space”. If, for example, your office equals 10% of the total square footage of your house, then your CPA should also write-off 10% of your rent or mortgage, insurance, utilities… etc.

4. Furniture:

Office-furniture purchases can be expensed or depreciated. Either way, it’s still better for you. Again, adding it to depreciation increases your EBITDA and helps to increase the market value of your EEC.

5. Office Supplies:

Most people remember the supplies purchased for the centers or schools, but not everyone keeps receipts for the supplies used at the home office. It’s easy to overlook these supplies because they are sometimes purchased in smaller quantities when you’re running personal errands. However, paper, pens, sticky notes add up over a year.

6. Office Equipment:

At work or in the home office, printers, copiers, computers, scanners, routers, fax machines, power strips are also tax deductible. Again, these items can be expensed in one year or depreciated over a few years… whatever is best for you.

7. Travel / Meals and Entertainment:

Hotel rooms travel (plains, trains and automobiles) and tips to your cab driver or the bellboy are all 100% deductible. Restaurant bills are 50% deductible.

8. Insurance:

Your EEC can pay for your health insurance, and it is 100% deductible. There are conditions here, but ask your CPA.

Remember, a dollar saved is the same as a dollar earned. You work really hard for your money. There is no reason to give it away after you’ve done that hardest part of the work.

(Legal Disclaimer: Always consult the proper professionals before taking action. By and before the use of the information provided herein, reader agrees that BFS® is not responsible for viewer’s actions related to said information.)

Note though that this tax exemption only applies if the company retains the cash until the shareholder is non UK resident or if the cash is retained overseas. Any extraction of the proceeds would be taxed to the extent that they were remitted to the UK. So whether a simple dividend is paid or if the company is liquidated and a capital distribution is paid the cash would need to be retained offshore. If you wanted to enjoy the proceeds in the UK you’d need to think about methods of remitting the proceeds with minimal UK tax implications.

A big problem with using an offshore company is in ensuring it’s controlled from overseas. If it was controlled from the UK it would be UK resident and as such taxed in full on any capital gains realised. If the company owns UK assets it makes it more difficult to avoid the company being classed as UK resident.

Inheritance taxUsing an offshore company is a big advantage for inheritance tax purposes, as it converts a UK asset into an overseas asset. As non UK domiciliaries are not subject to Inheritance tax on overseas assets they can then avoid tax on the UK property owned by the offshore company. One point to note here is that it’s important that the company shares pass on registration. They will then be classed as located where the share register is – which if this is outside the UK will ensure that the shares are excluded property.

Income taxA directly owned foreign holding company can at the most only achieve only a a partial avoidance of UK tax. Income tax, unlike capital gains tax is still taxed on UK source income. Therefore even if an offshore company is used, UK tax will still be charged on UK income.

However there are benefits to be obtained from using an offshore company. For example there can be a saving of higher rate tax as non resident companies are subject to the lower or basic rate of tax in respect of UK source income. Note though that you can obtain some income (eg UK bank interest) free of UK tax. This is because tax on this income is restricted to tax deducted at source if the recipient is a non resident.

SummaryAn offshore company investing in the UK can look to achieve the following tax benefits:

Avoidance of capital gains tax
Avoidance of inheritance tax
Partial avoidance of income tax
Anti avoidance rulesAside from the company residence position – which is always an issue where you have an offshore company with UK shareholders there are also the anti avoidance provisions to consider.
Note that there is also the related issue that if an individual exercises control over the company and makes it UK resident there is a risk that he may be a shadow director and any benefits provided to him (or his family) from the company would be charged to income tax.

The main anti avoidance provision that applies to income is S739. Although there is an exemption for non UK domiciliaries this does not apply to the company’s UK income.

Therefore if the offshore company had UK investment income this provision would deem the income of the company to be that of the person establishing/transferring to the company originally.

Another useful point to note is that S739 applies to any foreign registered company.

When can the anti avoidance rules be avoidedOne is where the UK individual buys a company that already has the UK investments in it. Provided he doesn’t inject any further assets to the company he shouldn’t be within the scope of the legislation (as he’s not made a transfer of assets resulting in income accruing to the company).

Secondly there is the motive defence which applies where the transfer was not for the purposes of avoiding UK tax, and was for a wholly commercial purpose. One case where this is more easily satisfied is where a non domiciliary established the company before coming to the UK.

When can the offshore non resident company be used as a tax shelter for UK investments?It can be used to avoid UK Inheritance tax It can be used to avoid UK tax on any capital gain It can be used as a partial shelter for UK income if S739 is avoided in one of the above ways.

However any extraction of the income or proceeds from the company to the UK would be subject to UK tax. Therefore ideally income/proceeds should be retained overseas.

Lee J Hadnum is a rarity among tax advisers having both legal & chartered accountancy qualifications. After qualifying as a prize winner in the Institute of Chartered Accountants entrance exams, he went on to become a Chartered Tax Adviser.