The distinction between development and investing in property is crucial for tax purposes. Often it will be quite clear-cut as to whether a person is trading or investing in land. A person buying property to let out long term will be making a property investment, whereas someone buying a property to refurbish and sell will most likely be trading as a property developer. There c ...

HMRC has confirmed that the tax gap for 2016/17 has fallen to 5.7%. The ‘tax gap’ is the difference between the tax that should theoretically be paid to HMRC and the actual tax that has been paid. HMRC believes that the tax gap is lower as a result of its work to help taxpayers get things right from the start, and the department’s sustained efforts to tackle evasion and avoidan ...