Clear and hassle-free advice for pharmacists
Pharmacy
Clear and hassle-free advice for pharmacists.
Shipleys have been using their specialist knowledge in the healthcare sector for over 10 years. We act for pharmacies of all sizes from small independents to larger groups, as well as GP linked pharmacies and locums.
The industry has seen a surge in growth in recent years, achieved against a back drop of challenges to maintaining and increasing profits. Independent Pharmacy owners need to be proactive in providing more of the advanced and enhanced services on top of the essential services with many pharmacies now providing additional enhanced services to help support and promote dispensing.
Sections
Independent Pharmacies
We are here to help you maximise your income by letting you concentrate on your business. We provide the following compliance services at a fixed price:
• Monthly bookkeeping, VAT and payroll
• Annual accounts
• Corporation tax return
• Personal tax returns
• Unlimited Ad hoc telephone and email advice
As part of our service we will automatically look at and discuss the following areas when we do your accounts:
• GP margin and turnover comparisons to other similar clients
• NHS income v OTC income
• Staff/locum costs
• Net profit margin
• Drawing money out tax efficiently
• Other tax specialist planning advice
We have nationwide coverage and are happy to come and visit you.
Locum Pharmacists
As specialist locum accountants, Shipleys has become the preferred tax and accounts service provider for http://www.pharmacy-forum.co.uk members.
As well as doing your normal tax returns and accounts for the year, we will help with the following:
• If you have not done any planning then you probably are paying over the odds. Call us now to arrange a FREE TAX HEALTHCHECK.
• Sole trader v limited company – which is the best route for you? We will give you a tailored answer as part of our free tax healthcheck.
• Withdrawing money – what’s the best way of paying yourself? Again, if this isn’t done right you could end up being classed as being employed and not self employed under employment status rules and lose valuable tax reliefs
• How to minimise the risk of a tax enquiry using simple techniques.
• Expenses – are you claiming everything you are allowed to claim? We will give you a specially prepared list of expenses for locums.
• Buying a car – which is the best way, personally or through the company?
• Those in the property game – they can explain how you can pay significantly less income tax and capital gains tax on your property investments and dealings.
• Ad hoc telephone and email advice
Tax Planning for Pharmacies
Tax law never stands still and goal posts are always moving. It is crucial that you have the right adviser to guide you through the maze and help reduce your tax bill through legitimate and transparent means.
Shipleys Tax has a number of specialist tax advisers with wealth of experience in the pharmacy sector who can talk to you about the many tax saving opportunities.
We always say the best tax planning is done before a major event in the business so seek advice early in the lifecycle of a transaction. Some areas to consider:
• Buying or Selling a Pharmacy – huge tax saving opportunities both personal and corporation tax
• GP linked pharmacies – tax efficient trading structures
• Reduce inheritance tax on death
• Reduce stamp duty land tax on buying
• Offshore tax planning advice for certain businesses
• Provide property development strategies
• Use of EIS/SEIS and corporate venture vehicles
• Use of LLPs and corporate partnerships
• Asset protection and preservation of wealth
• Estate planning and succession
LATEST POSTS
Dubai-UK Tax Trap: Return of the Expat
International Tax
Dubai-UK Tax Trap: Return of the Expat
International Tax
RECENT WARNINGS FROM advisers highlight a growing issue affecting UK expats returning from Dubai and the wider Gulf. Individuals who believed they had legitimately realised gains while non-resident are now facing unexpected UK tax bills—sometimes running into millions.
In today’s Shipleys Tax brief, we highlight a growing and often misunderstood risk for UK expats returning from Dubai and the Gulf: the UK’s temporary non-residence rules can effectively pull previously untaxed overseas gains back into the UK tax net. What appeared to be a clean, tax-free disposal abroad can quickly turn into a multi-million pound liability on return—particularly where individuals come back within five years or inadvertently trigger UK residence sooner than expected.
With HMRC likely to scrutinise high-value cases closely and limited reliance on “exceptional circumstances”, the margin for error is small. The key message is that timing, structure and residence status must be managed proactively—because once you are back in the UK, the planning window is often already closed.
…the UK’s temporary non-residence rules can effectively pull previously untaxed overseas gains back into the UK tax net.
Why Expats are affected
At the centre of the problem is a rule many people either misunderstand or are simply unaware of: the UK’s temporary non-residence rules. These are designed to prevent individuals from leaving the UK for a short period, disposing of valuable assets tax-free in low-tax jurisdictions such as Dubai, and then returning shortly afterwards.
In general terms, if you leave the UK, become non-resident, and then return within five tax years, HMRC can effectively “look back” and tax certain gains you made while abroad. The result is that a disposal which appeared entirely tax-free at the time can later fall back into the UK tax net.
The real-world impact
This is where many expats are being caught out. A common scenario involves the sale of a business or investment during a period of non-residence—often with no local tax in the UAE. However, if the individual returns to the UK too soon, those gains can be taxed here, typically in the year of return.
For larger transactions, the numbers quickly become significant. It is not unusual for individuals to face tax charges in the millions on gains they assumed were outside the UK system.
UK return tax issue
The position is made more complex by the Statutory Residence Test. Simply returning to the UK—even for reasons outside your control—can increase your UK “day count” and trigger tax residence earlier than expected.
A common scenario involves the sale of a business or investment during a period of non-residence—often with no local tax in the UAE. However, if the individual returns to the UK too soon, those gains can be taxed here, typically in the year of return.
Once UK residence is re-established, the temporary non-residence rules may apply. This means the timing of your return is often just as important as the transaction itself.
Case Study 1: £5m Exit → Unexpected UK Tax Charge
A UK entrepreneur moves to Dubai and becomes non-UK resident. During their time abroad, they sell their business for £5 million, realising a full £5 million gain with no local tax. Confident the position is tax-free, they return to the UK after three years. However, because they have not remained non-resident for five full tax years, the UK’s temporary non-residence rules apply. The gain is effectively brought back into the UK tax net and taxed in the year of return, creating a potential liability of around £1.2 million (at 24% CGT, assuming no reliefs). The issue is not the disposal itself—but the timing of the return.
Case Study 2: Extracting £100,000 from a UK Company While Abroad
An individual leaves the UK and becomes non-resident, while retaining ownership of a UK company. During their period overseas, they extract around £100,000 of profits from the company, assuming this can be done free of UK tax while living in Dubai. They later return to the UK within five years.
Because of the temporary non-residence rules, certain income received during the non-resident period can be caught when the individual becomes UK resident again. HMRC may treat those amounts as taxable in the year of return, meaning what was assumed to be tax-free extraction could instead give rise to an unexpected UK income tax liability. As with capital gains, the risk arises not at the point of extraction—but on returning to the UK within the five-year window.
Exceptional Circumstances
Some individuals have looked to rely on the “exceptional circumstances” provisions, which can allow up to 60 days in the UK to be disregarded where events such as war or travel disruption prevent someone from leaving.
However, this is not a ready made guaranteed solution. HMRC apply rules narrowly and it depends heavily on the specific facts. Where alternative travel options exist—such as relocating temporarily to another country rather than returning to the UK—HMRC may take the view that the exemption does not apply.
In practice, relying on this argument carries risk, particularly where large tax liabilities are involved.
A growing risk
In the current climate, this creates real uncertainty. Many expats have returned to the UK due to instability in the region, while others are considering whether to do so.
The difficulty is that the tax consequences are not always clear-cut, and HMRC is likely to examine high-value cases closely—especially where significant gains have been realised during a short period of non-residence.
Planning before your return
From a practical perspective, this is rarely a situation that can be resolved after the event. The timing of your return, your residence position, and the structure of any disposals all interact in ways that can significantly change the outcome.
In some cases, careful planning—such as delaying a return, restructuring transactions, or considering an interim move to a third country—can materially reduce the risk.
Key takeaway
Leaving the UK does not automatically mean your gains are outside the UK tax system. If there is any possibility of returning within certain time limits, those gains may still be within HMRC’s reach.
Need advice?
If you may have exposure to UK tax while living in Dubai or the Gulf—or are looking to optimise your position—it is essential to review your UK tax affairs before taking any action.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Shipleys Tax does not provide free advice by email or phone. You should seek tailored advice before taking any action.
For further assistance or queries, please contact us below:
Leeds: 0113 320 9284 Sheffield: 0114 272 4984
Email: info@shipleystax.com
To discussion your tax position with a specialist please the complete the form below.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Please seek qualified tax advice before taking any action.
VAT Refund for Doctors – A rare win
Healthcare Tax
VAT Refund for Doctors – A rare win
Healthcare Tax
A significant VAT development for organisations using or supplying locum doctors
A recent tribunal decision, followed by HMRC accepting that it will revise its policy, has created a genuine opportunity for some organisations to revisit the VAT treatment of locum doctor supplies. For the right fact patterns, this may support historic refund claims. But this is not a blanket refund exercise, and the detail matters.
This issue can affect medical recruitment agencies, NHS bodies, private hospitals, clinics and other healthcare organisations that have either charged VAT on supplies of locum doctors or borne irrecoverable VAT on those supplies.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Please seek qualified tax advice before taking any action.
Business Ownership Structures: Choosing the Right Vehicle
Business Tax Planning
Business Ownership Structures: Choosing the Right Vehicle
Business structuring
Business ownership structures: choosing the right vehicle
Companies vs LLPs, FICs vs direct ownership, EOTs vs trade sales, and holding companies vs simpler groups — the structure you choose can shape tax, control, flexibility and long-term family wealth.
As the UK tax environment tightens and historic reliefs narrow, strong outcomes are increasingly driven not by last-minute tax planning, but by how a business or investment is owned, structured and positioned for the future.
Whether you are growing a trading company, building a property portfolio, planning succession, or preparing for exit, structure is strategy. The wrong vehicle can quietly erode value, restrict options and expose you to unnecessary tax. The right one can support growth, unlock funding and preserve wealth over time.
Key points at a glance
- Structure affects tax, profit extraction, succession and eventual exit.
- A company will often offer more certainty; an LLP may offer more flexibility.
- FICs can be powerful, but only if share rights and governance are designed properly.
- EOTs remain relevant, but trade sales and hybrid exits may still be more suitable in many cases.
- Holding companies can be highly effective where there is a clear commercial purpose.
- The costliest mistake is often leaving an outdated structure in place for too long.
Company vs LLP: certainty or flexibility?
One of the most common structural decisions is whether to operate through a limited company or a limited liability partnership.
Limited companies often appeal where owners want clearer separation between business profits and personal tax, stronger profit-retention options, access to share-based incentives, and cleaner eventual exit routes.
- Clear separation between business profits and personal tax
- Greater certainty around tax rates and retained profits
- Access to EMI and other share-based incentives
- Cleaner sale and investment routes
LLPs, by contrast, can still be attractive where flexibility matters most, particularly in advisory and professional environments.
- Flexible profit allocation
- Tax transparency
- Familiarity in professional and partner-led businesses
However, LLPs now attract more scrutiny around partner status, disguised employment and NIC exposure. For many growing firms, the historic advantages have narrowed, while companies increasingly provide the more robust long-term platform.
The key question is not simply which structure saves tax today, but which structure still works when the business changes shape.
FICs vs direct ownership
With inheritance tax receipts rising and nil-rate bands effectively constrained, many families are revisiting how valuable trading companies and investment assets are owned.
Direct ownership is simple, but simplicity often comes with trade-offs. Future growth remains in the individual estate, and flexibility on succession can be limited.
Family Investment Companies, when properly structured, can offer a more strategic framework.
- Control retained through voting shares
- Future growth shifted to the next generation
- Better succession planning without outright gifts of core assets
- Integration with trusts and wider estate planning
That said, FICs are not a plug-and-play answer. Poor share rights, weak governance or unsuitable funding can create new tax issues and family tension. Used well, however, they remain one of the most effective long-term planning tools available.
FICs are not just about avoiding tax now. They are about controlling who bears tax later, and on what terms.
EOTs vs trade sales
For founders looking ahead to exit, the choice between an Employee Ownership Trust and a trade sale is rarely just financial. It is also about legacy, control and timing.
EOTs can offer:
- A potentially tax-efficient exit route
- Continuity for the business and team
- Protection of culture and long-term identity
But they also come with real commercial constraints.
- Deferred consideration
- Ongoing governance requirements
- Reduced flexibility as reliefs tighten and rules evolve
Trade sales may instead provide:
- Higher upfront value
- Cleaner separation for founders
- Greater certainty on timing and proceeds
Increasingly, the most effective outcomes are not binary. We often see hybrid solutions, including staged exits, management buy-outs and partial EOT models designed to balance tax, funding and control.
Holding companies vs simpler groups
As businesses mature, the question often shifts from what entity should I trade through? to should I now introduce a holding company?
A well-designed group can add real strategic value.
- Risk can be ring-fenced between activities
- Dividend flows can become more efficient
- Acquisitions can be funded without personal extraction
- Future demergers, disposals or investment rounds can be easier to manage
But complexity for its own sake is rarely wise. Additional entities bring admin, cost and scrutiny. The strongest structures are purpose-led: simple in presentation, but powerful in operation.
Common structural mistakes
- Copying structures used by peers without considering your own risk profile
- Keeping an LLP or direct ownership model long after the business has evolved
- Leaving succession or exit planning until value is already crystallising
- Pursuing tax planning without a credible commercial rationale
- Introducing group structures that create admin without delivering strategic value
These mistakes do not usually fail immediately. They simply become expensive over time.
The Shipleys Tax view
Optimising structure is not about chasing loopholes or reacting late. It is about aligning ownership with where the business, family or investment strategy is actually heading.
Growth, external capital, succession and exit all pull in different directions. The right structure reconciles them before tax becomes a constraint.
The most expensive tax planning is often the kind done too late.
Next step: review the structure before it becomes a problem
If your business or investment structure has not been reviewed in the last three to five years, there is a strong chance it no longer reflects the current tax environment, your growth ambitions, or your succession and exit plans.
Shipleys Tax works with owner-managers, families and boards to stress-test structures against future scenarios before decisions become difficult or irreversible.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Shipleys Tax does not offer free advice by email or phone. Always seek tailored advice before taking action.
Incorporating your Property Portfolio for Tax Planning
Property Tax Planning
Incorporating your Property Portfolio for Tax Planning
Property Tax Planning
IN THE PAST decade, the UK property market has quietly undergone a structural revolution. What began as a tax-driven shift among higher-rate landlords has now become a mainstream trend — with over 70% of new buy-to-lets purchased through companies, and a growing number of investors treating their portfolios as businesses rather than side investments.
The reasons are clear. Frozen tax thresholds, rising mortgage rates, and the unpopular Section 24 restriction on mortgage interest relief have all squeezed traditional landlords, while larger and more professional investors — including overseas buyers and family offices — have quietly moved towards corporate ownership. This allows for lower tax rates, full deductibility of finance costs, and greater flexibility in reinvestment and succession planning.
At the same time, institutional capital continues to pour into the UK’s build-to-rent sector, with pension funds, private equity, and sovereign wealth investors acquiring or developing rental stock at scale. The message is unmistakable: whether you’re a single investor or managing a multi-million-pound portfolio, the property landscape now rewards structure, strategy, and scale.
…over 70% of new buy-to-lets are purchased through companies, and a growing number of investors treating their portfolios as businesses rather than side investments.
However, incorporating property holdings is not a straight forward exercise. The potential tax benefits — from Corporation Tax savings to mortgage interest relief and succession planning — must be balanced against complex rules on Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), and legislative anti-avoidance. Done correctly, it can transform how you manage and grow your portfolio. Done wrong, it can trigger large unexpected tax bills and HMRC scrutiny.
In today’s Shipleys Tax insight, we take a closer look at when, how, and whether property investors, landlords, and developers — in the UK and abroad — should consider incorporating their portfolios, and how to structure the move in a way that is commercially robust, compliant, and future-proof.
The shifting sands…
UK investment property is increasingly held through companies, not personal names. Various datasets show the direction of travel:
- 70–75% of new buy-to-let purchases now go into companies, and the stock of company-owned BTLs keeps rising.
- 2025 has seen a surge in newly incorporated BTL companies (c. 67k expected), including more international landlords using UK companies.
- On the institutional side, Build-to-Rent continues to scale: 2025 updates show rising capital deployment and a deepening pipeline of professionally managed rental homes — i.e. corporate ownership at scale.
Why this matters: whether you own five units or fifty, the market (and lenders) increasingly assumes a corporate wrapper. That doesn’t mean incorporation is always right—but it does mean you should evaluate it properly.
Why more investors are going limited – summary points
- Tax rate arbitrage (corporation vs personal): Company profits are taxed at 19–25%, versus personal rates up to 45% for landlords.
- Finance cost deductibility: Companies can still deduct 100% of mortgage interest (unlike Section 24-restricted individuals).
Company profits are taxed at 19–25%, versus personal rates up to 45% for landlords.
- Reinvestment & scale: Retaining profits inside the company can make it easier to fund capex and acquisitions (and often plays better with lenders as your portfolio grows). Industry evidence shows professional/portfolio and institutional investors are leaning this way.
- Succession options: With the right share design, you can plan control, income and eventual handover far more neatly than with personally-owned bricks and mortar.
Institutions are not doing this by accident. The rise of professionally managed rental (BTR/single-family) is a clear signal that corporate ownership is the default for scalable portfolios.
Property tripwires
Moving assets from you to your company can trigger tax and lending events. Common pitfalls we regularly help clients avoid:
- CGT at market value on transfer unless qualifying reliefs can be applied.
- SDLT on the company’s acquisition price, including surcharges — partnership routes and genuine business status matter.
Moving assets from you to your company can trigger tax and lending events
- Mortgage reset risk: lenders may re-price or require a new facility when title changes.
- Anti-abuse scrutiny: “form-over-substance” restructures invite HMRC challenge.
These can often be managed with commercially robust planning—but only if mapped before you pull the trigger.
Where Shipleys Tax advice fits
Shipleys Tax act for landlords, developers and cross-border investors who want the benefits of a company without the nasty pitfalls:
- Feasibility modelling: side-by-side projections (personal vs company) so you can see the real after-tax outcome.
- Reliefs & route selection: assessing whether you’re a genuine property business, if partnership routes make sense, and how to minimise/mitigate CGT/SDLT on transfer.
- Banking & debt coordination: working with your broker/lender so finance aligns with the structure (and the timetable).
- Succession & wealth planning: company share design, Family Investment Company (FIC) options, and clean governance for future exits.
- Ongoing compliance: accounts, corporation tax, VAT where relevant—and steady optimisation as rules shift.
Conclusion
Incorporating your property portfolio isn’t a simple formula — but for many serious investors, it has become the foundation of modern, scalable property investment. A company structure can open the door to lower tax rates, full finance deductibility, reinvestment flexibility, and far more controlled succession planning.
However, success lies not in the decision but in the execution. The process must be commercially justified, carefully modelled, and compliant with HMRC’s rules on reliefs and anti-avoidance. A poorly timed or poorly structured incorporation can easily erode the very benefits it was meant to deliver.
At Shipleys Tax, we specialise in helping landlords and investors navigate that fine line — turning complex legislation into practical, tax-efficient strategies.
For further assistance or queries, please contact:
Sheffield: 0114 303 7076 Leeds: 0113 320 9284 Manchester: 0161 850 1655
Email: info@shipleystax.com
Please note that Shipleys Tax do not give free advice by email or telephone. The content of this article is for general guidance only and should not be considered as tax or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before taking action.
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This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Please seek qualified tax advice before taking any action.
