Tax advice of the week: Claim back for loss on shares

published 19 November 2010

Due to a recent change of heart by the tax office, relating to tax relief for individuals who have made a loss on shares held in a trading company, you may find yourself eligible for a tax refund, says Tax Tips & Advice. The change of practice (see Revenue and Customs brief 41/10) specifically concerns firms "which have either completely failed" or are going through such a bad time that they have become "of negligible value".

In this situation, the shareholders can claim an income-tax deduction equal to the cost of the shares bought directly from the company. Until now, HMRC refused claims for loss relief where the shares were owned jointly or held by a nominee (eg, a broker).

This particularly affected married couples who owned shares in their company in joint names. The change means you can now make a claim for 2008/2009 by 31 January 2011, 2009/2010 by 31 January 2012, and so on, as well as any earlier years that are under enquiry, or for which you haven't submitted a tax return.