03333 231 580
Contact usBusiness Tax
Our business tax lawyers specialise in advising owner managed businesses, shareholders, partners, employees and companies on a full range of tax strategies to mitigate tax exposure. We consider and advise on reliefs and exemptions available on Stamp Duty Land Tax, VAT, Corporation Tax including taxation of chargeable gains, tax warranties and indemnities in corporate transactions, share options.
Our focus is you
Our tax lawyers provide legal and tax services for companies and other business entities including partnerships and charities. We will also explore personal tax solutions for accountants to consider for their clients.
Tax advice for companies and unincorporated associations
- Advice on tax warranties and indemnities on share sales.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) advice on acquiring property including within group structures and as part of corporate reorganisations, and advice on reliefs available to specific bodies such as charities.
- Extracting profits from a company, comparing remuneration, dividend and capital routes. Tax implications of winding up a business including formal and informal methods of winding up a company including liquidation.
- Advice on loss relief including trading, group, terminal, property and other losses.
- Advice on how to maximise claims to Capital Allowances to reduce tax liabilities, including considering pooling, super deductions and first year allowances.
- Mitigation of corporate taxes on chargeable gains on disposals of land, buildings, equipment, intangible and other assets, including full consideration of available reliefs and exemptions.
We also advise on the tax implications of:
- corporate change in ownership,
- share buy-backs and transfers,
- S455 tax on loans to participators of close companies,
- reorganisations of group structures, and
- research and development activities.
Tax advice for business owners and partners
Our specialist tax lawyers have experience advising clients on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) implications of past and intended disposals of business assets held by owner-managed businesses and partners. We consider the allowances and reliefs available including Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly known as Entrepreneurs’ Relief), Hold-over Relief on gifts out of the business, Business Asset Rollover Relief, and Incorporation Relief.
Our tax lawyers also provide VAT advice on electing to tax a property, and making Transfers as a Going Concern.
We consider the interaction of the full range of taxes to develop strategies to reduce your tax bill in order to:
- extract value from your business,
- protect assets for future generations,
- exit and retire from a business,
- set up a lettings business,
- establish a Family Investment Company, and
- transfer assets into onshore and offshore trusts.
Tax advice for employers
Our tax lawyers work closely with the Employment team to advise clients on employees share schemes, and comparison with bonus or dividend payments. We specialise in providing assistance in understanding your obligations under VAT legislation and the off-payroll rules (IR35) when making payments to contractors, intermediaries, freelancers and umbrella companies.
Get in touch with our business tax lawyers
We have experience in a wide range of sectors, clients and industries, which enables us to offer a holistic tax-focused service to our clients. Members of our team have extensive experience working in tax compliance and policy development at HMRC. Our tax lawyers have worked with banking and life insurance providers, construction industry clients, estates, owner managed businesses on business transactions, sole traders, partnerships, investment companies, small to medium sized companies, PLCs and group structures.
Our UK tax specialists are have offices in London and across the South East including Gatwick and Crawley, Hassocks, Horsham, Brighton and Guildford.
Please note that visits to our office is by appointment only. If you wish to contact one of our business tax experts you can do via our online enquiry form or call on +44 (0)3333 231 580.
Your key questions answered
Our tax specialists have substantial experience of representing clients in HMRC investigations and would be happy to review your case with a view to representing your company. Our lawyers take a pragmatic and sympathetic approach to establishing the facts of your case and use our specialist knowledge to advise you on the best way forward.
Our tax lawyers have extensive experience negotiating and drafting tax warranties and indemnities which allocate tax risk between the buyer and seller. Our lawyers take the time to understand your business and our aim is always to minimise your tax risk and reduce your tax liability.
When you transfer assets into a company, any gains you make personally may be subject to Capital Gains Tax, even if you charge your group less than the value of those assets. Our business tax experts can help you to ensure that you calculate and report any Capital Gains Tax due correctly, and make best use of any exemptions and reliefs which are available. For example, in the case of a residential property, if you have lived in it, Principal Private Residence Relief may be due, however the availability of this relief may be impacted if you continue to live in the property after transferring it, ie continue to have beneficial ownership. We can help you to consider your options and how they might impact your personal tax position.
Speak to one of our corporate tax solicitors who can advise you on which of your group companies may be the most tax efficient owner of the property, including whether to set up a new company to hold it (a Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV). Our lawyers will also help you to decide whether the property owning company will charge rent to any occupier, and how this will be taxed, and whether group relief is available on this income to reduce the tax charge to the group overall.
Self employed contractors are responsible for reporting and paying Income Tax to HMRC, however this is a key area of focus currently for HMRC and a significant number of individuals, some very high profile, have been subject to challenge and ultimately court action, over their employment status in recent years.
If you are engaging a contractor you are obliged to check their employment status, as if you fail to treat them as an employee you may have to pay unpaid tax and penalties if their status is wrong. Our business tax solicitors can help you to understand the complex rules on off-payroll working (IR35) and whether you should be operating a PAYE scheme and deducting tax from the contractor.
As to the charge to VAT, it is the responsibility of the supplier to decide whether or not VAT is chargeable. However if you think that you should be paying VAT to a contractor business and the supplier does not ask you to do so, you should consider the supply, the contractor and the surrounding facts carefully as HMRC may view you as a participator, should you have failed to report any wrongdoing.
Our specialist tax lawyers can review the supply and the contractor business and apply the complex rules on VAT, and help you to determine whether you should take any action to reduce your tax bill.
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Stay connectedRecent work
Share sales
Our team advised a corporate client on tax warranties and indemnities at the last-minute of the sale of shares in a subsidiary of a large group of companies. Share sale completed with a value £1.5m.
Business Taxation
Operating a lettings business – taxation of the business and protection of assets for future generations
Advising a client with numerous rental properties held jointly with spouse, considering whether they were operating as a business, advising on tax savings and setting up various Trusts in order to protect assets for future generations and provide Inheritance Tax savings.
Business Taxation
SDLT on group re-organisation
In response to a requisition from HM Land Registry our team clarified the arrangements and confirmed the statutory clauses exempting the transaction from SDLT due to group reorganisation and the hiving up of the commercial property to the parent company in accordance with the re-organisation.
Business Taxation
Advising on purchase agreement to ensure TOGC treatment
Buyer purchasing life insurance arm of company and advising on how this should be structured to ensure TOGC treatment for VAT purposes.
Business Taxation
Insights
Insights
DMH Stallard has advised the shareholders of Sygna Holdings Limited on the sale of a majority stake in the business to leading European integrated facilities management company Apleona.
16/07/2026
Insights
Traditionally, a period of international instability and low business growth is not good for investor confidence, with the result that prices and deal volumes drop; but that is not what we are seeing.
15/07/2026
Events
Join our online workshop where our employment law experts will provide a practical update on the reforms already in force, what changes are on the horizon, and discuss what employers and HR teams should be doing to plan ahead.
Insights
DMH Stallard LLP has advised Allenby Capital Limited on its role as Aquis Corporate Adviser to Reveille Resources PLC
08/07/2026
