Many micro business owners employ their spouse and as long as they perform a role in the business that’s fine and it can be very tax efficient.

But there are circumstances in larger businesses with several owners/directors where it isn’t practical to directly employ your spouse.

However, it could be possible to claim an expense for using your spouse as an assistant, take a look at EIM32415

A deduction can be given in the following circumstances:

• where the employee is paid solely by results so that, in taking on assistance, the employee can maximise his or her earnings from the employment.
• where it is actually part of the duties of the employment to engage and remunerate assistants to do some of the work.

So it may be possible to amend your employment contract to identify parts of your job that could be done by someone else and you could add a clause which says that you must ensure the work specified is done and that its your duty to employ an assistant to do it.

The duties could be anything – Admin, Secretarial, Market Research, Telesales…..

Depending on how much you pay your assistant you may need to account for PAYE and NI.

steve@bicknells.net