The tax position on selling a business can be extremely complicated. You may need to consider the tax consequences for the business, for you personally, and for the purchaser. Taxes involved could include capital gains tax (for the business and/or personally), stamp duty on any sale of shares, stamp duty land tax on the sale of business premises and income tax. You may also want to consider inheritance tax planning at the same time.
There is a wide range of options for minimising tax liabilities. For example:
- The way the sale is structured can affect the tax consequences.
- It may be possible to withdraw capital in tax efficient ways such as payments into your pension scheme.
- It may be possible to defer capital gains tax by reinvesting the proceeds of the sale in a qualifying investment.
The best option will depend on the circumstances, and the most tax efficient strategy may take a long time to implement. Take expert advice, well in advance.
