The World’s Your Oyster
After a few summers with little or no opportunity to travel – the world is now our oyster again and, for intreprid travellers at least, there are few destinations off the table.
According to Conde Nast Traveler, some of the ‘best places to go in 2023’ include Auckland; British Colombia; Central California; Egypt; Galilee in Israel; Kenya; the Loire Valley; and Marrakech, among other suggestions.
Here at Lewis & Co, we can count a number of independent travel agents among our clients and it’s good to see those businesses picking up again, after a few difficult years. While they are busy making sure their clients travel to some amazing destinations, we ae there supporting them to keep their business finances running smoothly. Again, our experience in this area means we are well positioned to advise clients who own this type of business.
The pandemic did introduce us to some lovely parts of our own country and we also have a number of clients who own holiday lets. The tax implications of holiday let ownership can be complex. For instance, there are certain allowable expenses including on heating and insurances and we can advise clients on those.
We can also work with clients who are looking for their business to qualify as a Furnished Holiday Let (FHL). For this, the property must be available to let for at least 30 weeks a year and actually be let for 15 weeks. Also, it cannot be let to the same person for more than 31 consecutive days.
If your holiday let meets the criteria to be a FHL, HMRC will potentially allow you additional tax benefits compared with traditional residential landlords. Again, we can talk you through these benefits, as well as VAT implications and what sort of business the holiday let should sit within – sole trader, limited company etc.
Here in Kent and Sussex, good weather always brings a boost for the hospitality sector. If you’re in the pub or restaurant trade, you’ll also need an accountant by your side who understands your business. At Lewis & Co, we’ve been working with hospitality businesses for nearly 40 years and we’d love to talk to you about how we can support you.
If you’ve got any questions at all, then please do contact us on 01892 513515 or info@lewisandco.biz