Accountants Newcastle | London

FAQ of the Week: How should shares in a family company be structured? 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🏢

Family companies are often set up with one person owning all the shares. While this may retain control, it is not always the most tax efficient or flexible structure.

🗳️ Do you need to own every share to control the company?

Not necessarily. More than 50% of the voting rights will normally provide control over everyday decisions, while at least 75% is generally needed for special resolutions.

💷 Can sharing ownership reduce tax?

Bringing a spouse, civil partner or adult children into the share structure can allow dividend income to be shared across the family.

However, shares must be genuinely transferred and should carry appropriate voting, dividend and capital rights. Simply diverting income without meaningful ownership could be challenged by HMRC.

👶 Can shares be given to children?

Shares can be gifted to adult children as part of succession planning, with dividends normally taxed on the adult child.

Different rules apply to children under 18. Dividends arising from shares gifted by a parent may instead be taxed on the parent.

🎁 Will gifting shares create a tax charge?

A gift is normally treated as a disposal at market value for Capital Gains Tax. Business Asset Holdover Relief may be available on qualifying trading company shares, allowing the gain to be deferred.

There may also be Inheritance Tax considerations, so advice should be taken before any transfer.

📈 Could different share classes affect BADR?

Yes. A shareholder will generally need at least 5% of the ordinary share capital, voting rights and economic rights for the required two year period.

Issuing new shares without advice could dilute an existing shareholder and prevent them from qualifying.

📄 Why have a shareholders’ agreement?

It can set out voting rights, dividend policy and what happens following death, divorce, a dispute or when someone wants to leave.

🤝 How we can help

We can review your share structure, Articles of Association and shareholders’ agreement to ensure they support your tax position, succession plans and long term objectives.

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💡 TAX TIP OF THE WEEK 💡

🏠 Rental Income: Have You Told HMRC?

Receiving income from renting out a property, room, holiday accommodation or even a driveway? You may need to declare it to HMRC, even if property letting is not your main source of income.

📅 If you have not been asked to complete a tax return, you will normally need to notify HMRC by 5 October following the end of the relevant tax year.

You may qualify for the £1,000 property income allowance, but the rules and exceptions should be checked carefully.

⚠️ Failing to notify HMRC on time can result in interest and penalties. The level of the penalty may depend on whether the mistake was careless or deliberate and whether you approached HMRC before they contacted you.

🔍 HMRC receives information from letting agents, online platforms and other sources, so undeclared rental income may not remain unnoticed.

If rental income has been missed from previous tax years, it may be possible to make a voluntary disclosure through HMRC’s Let Property Campaign.

✅ Acting promptly can help reduce penalties and bring your tax affairs up to date.

Speak to an accountant as soon as possible if you are unsure whether rental income needs to be declared.

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💡 TAX TIP OF THE WEEK 💡

🔤 Alphabet Shares vs Dividend Waivers

Want greater flexibility over how dividends are paid between shareholders?
Alphabet shares allow a company to create separate classes of shares, such as A, B and C shares. A different dividend can then be declared on each class, without another shareholder having to waive their entitlement.

✅ This can be a cleaner and more practical approach than using dividend waivers, which must be prepared correctly and completed at the right time.

⚠️ However, alphabet shares are not an automatic tax saving solution.
HMRC may challenge arrangements where income is diverted to a lower taxed family member without a genuine commercial basis.

📄 The company’s articles, share rights, distributable reserves and dividend paperwork must all support the payments being made.

Good dividend planning is about:
🏗️ The right structure
🔍 Genuine commercial substance
✍️ Proper documentation

It is not simply about paying more income to whoever has the lowest tax rate.

📞 Always take advice before changing a company’s share structure or declaring different dividends between shareholders.

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❓ FAQ of the Week: Selling shares in your own company. Can you claim BADR? 🏢💷

If you are selling shares in a personal or family company, Business Asset Disposal Relief can still be a big saver, but only if you tick the right boxes well before the sale.

💡 What does BADR do now?
For disposals from 6 April 2026, gains that qualify for BADR are taxed at 18%, subject to a £1 million lifetime limit per person. Spouses and civil partners each have their own lifetime limit.

✅ When do shares qualify?
BADR can apply to a sale of shares in your personal company, as long as the company is a trading company or the holding company of a trading group at the time of disposal. There is also a window to qualify if the company stopped trading recently, provided the disposal occurs within three years of cessation.

👤 What does “personal company” mean in practice?
You normally need at least 5% of the ordinary share capital and 5% of the voting rights. On top of that, you must also meet the economic test, meaning entitlement to at least 5% of distributable profits and assets on a winding up, or at least 5% of the sale proceeds.

⏳ How long do you need to meet the rules?
The conditions must generally be met throughout the two year qualifying period leading up to the disposal. You also need to be an officer or employee, such as a director, during that period.

🎁 What about gifting shares to family?
The article highlights that a gift of shares can sometimes qualify for BADR if Gift Hold Over Relief is not claimed, which can be useful in certain succession plans.

🧾 Do you need to claim it?
Yes. BADR is not automatic. It must be claimed, and there is a deadline to do so.

📌 Real world impact
In the article’s example, a shareholder with a £750,000 gain would pay £180,000 at 24% without BADR, versus £135,000 with BADR, a saving of £45,000.

🤝 How we can help
If you are planning a sale, retirement, management buyout, or family succession, we can review whether you qualify, spot any BADR risks early, and help you structure shareholdings, roles, and the timeline so you go into a deal with confidence.

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This Week’s Tax Tip 🌟: Interest received and the savings rules people often mix up 💷🏦

Received bank or building society interest this year?

Many people know about the £1,000 allowance, but there is also a separate £5,000 starting rate for some taxpayers. Here is the difference, and when interest may need to be declared 👇

✅ The £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance

This is the allowance most people know about. Basic rate taxpayers can usually receive up to £1,000 of savings interest at 0%. Higher rate taxpayers get £500. Additional rate taxpayers get no Personal Savings Allowance.

✅ The £5,000 starting rate for savings

This is different. It is aimed at people with low non savings income. If your other income is less than £17,570, you may get up to £5,000 of savings interest taxed at 0%, and that band is reduced by £1 for every £1 your other income exceeds your Personal Allowance.

✅ These are separate reliefs

The £5,000 starting rate is for people with low other income. The £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance depends on your tax band. They are not the same thing.

✅ Do not forget the reporting point

If you complete a Self Assessment tax return, any interest earned on savings should be reported there. HMRC also says you need to register for Self Assessment if your income from savings and investments is over £10,000. If you are employed or receive a pension, HMRC may instead collect any tax due through your tax code.

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❓ FAQ of the Week: Who gets taxed on rental income when a couple owns the property together? 🏠💷

This catches a lot of landlords out, especially when one person earns more than the other or when rent lands in just one bank account.

👫 If you are married or in a civil partnership and living together
HMRC’s starting point is simple. Rental profits are taxed 50 50, even if you actually own the property in different shares. It’s a default rule, not a choice.

🚪 If you are no longer living together
The 50 50 rule can fall away where separation is likely to be permanent. At that point, HMRC looks at who is receiving or entitled to the profits in real terms. A recent tribunal case involved a jointly owned property rented via Airbnb, and the spouse who actually received and controlled the income was taxed on it, even though the income helped clear joint debts.

📄 Want the split to reflect unequal ownership while you are living together?
You generally need unequal beneficial interests as tenants in common, plus a valid Form 17 declaration to HMRC so the rental profits are taxed in line with the true ownership split. This needs to be backed up with evidence, and there is a strict submission window in practice, so timing matters.

✅ The key takeaway
You cannot fix this by simply paying the rent into the lower earner’s account. The legal ownership, the beneficial interest, and the reporting all need to match.

🤝 How we can help
We can review how your property is owned, confirm who should be taxed, advise on the right split, and handle the Form 17 process so everything is properly evidenced and reported correctly on your tax returns.

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