Guidance on the purchase of own shares by a company

HMRC have published a new help sheet for advance clearance applications in relation to the purchase of own shares by unquoted trading companies.

The help sheet, which is meant for use in straightforward situations, explains the conditions that must be met before a payment by a company to purchase its own shares can be treated as an exempt distribution. It also provides details of how a company can make a clearance application in connection with the purchase of own shares legislation.

The help sheet also contains two excellent clearance application checklists, one for purchase benefitting a company’s trade and one for purchase in connection with IHT

The help sheet is available from HMRC.