Allowance

The employment allowance (EA) was introduced in 2014 and currently provides a secondary Class 1 NI reduction on the first £5,000 of contributions due from an employer per tax year. The EA is restricted to employers with a Class 1 NI liability of less than £100,000. Companies where the only employee is the director are excluded.

The EA isn’t just restricted to companies either; any employer can claim it, so sole traders and partnerships can benefit.

Most payroll software will just automatically deduct the allowance. But what happens in the situation where there is more than one business?

Shared EA

In some circumstances, the EA has to be shared between the different businesses, including where two or more companies are connected and are “interdependent”, i.e. they use common resources such as premises, staff, finances. Connected means where one company controls the other or the same persons control both.

Different vehicle

One way around the shared EA problem would be  set the new business up through an unincorporated structure, i.e. a sole trade or partnership. None of the relevant circumstances for a shared EA apply, so the EA can be claimed for each business meaning they will be better off in terms of NI by up to £5,000 every year.

The downside of using an unincorporated model is that it will mean losing control over the timing of income via salary or dividends.

Loophole

If the new business absolutely has to be a company for some reason, there is still the possibility of getting a £5,000 windfall. The rule that leads to the EA being shared where there are two interdependent companies only kicks in if there are two companies at the start of the tax year. If the entrepreneur starts their new company midway through a year both the new and existing one will be able to claim the EA for that year.

Unfortunately, the EA would need to be shared between the companies from the start of the next year, but it’s still better than nothing.