Director Loan Account Write-Off: Here’s What You Do

Starting a company is an exciting milestone in business, but a major roadblock happens to be the sizeable startup costs associated. A common approach to gathering that capital is through a director’s loan, which is when the company director lends their personal funds to the company bank account. Sometimes, however, you will hear of an amount the company owes being written off.

Why does this happen, and how? Real Business will go over the details in this article to understand this vital aspect of capital loans, detailing why keeping personal and company money separate is essential.

What Is A Director’s Loan?

A director’s loan is a sum of money being lent from the director’s personal funds to the company bank account with the understanding that it will be paid back through a range of methods. It is understood that this capital is to be used as something other than a dividend payment, or a purchase eligible for expense repayment money within the company. The money is transferred from a director’s loan account, which serves as a record of the transaction.

It is important to note that this happens within the confines of limited companies, meaning the money becomes company money within the company accounts, with no ability to simply return the money immediately as a sole trader could.

That being said, there’s a reverse director’s loan, where a director owes money to the company. If a director owes more money than he has borrowed from the company, he will incur an overdrawn director’s loan account status. All director’s loans must be repaid within 9 months of the company’s corporation tax accounting period, or face a hefty tax charge.

There is a time and a place for each of these different types of director’s loans, and you should consider the benefits and advantages available to you when deciding whether to make use of director’s loans and when.

Should I Borrow Company Money As A Director?

There are pros and cons to borrowing company money through a director’s loan account.

Pros Of Opening A Directors Loan Account

• Access to Funds – You get quick access to funds for either your personal account or your company account, owing to your status as director.
• Flexible – As director, you have various options regarding your outstanding loan balance, not to mention the use of the funds.
• Tax advantage – In some cases, if you repay the loan within nine months and a day of the company’s year end, you may be able to avoid additional corporation tax.
• Interest benefits – If company interest is incurred, they can write off the expense from their profits and reduce income tax for the tax year, not to mention earn additional income from the interest itself.

Cons Of Opening A Directors Loan Account

• Tax implications – An overdrawn director’s loan can cause income tax for the director, meaning that the national insurance contributions of the company could be affected.
• Tax charge – Loans remaining outstanding after nine months run the risk of incurring 32.5% corporation tax charges.
• Liability – If a director’s loan account remains during an insolvency, they may be liable for the outstanding loan balance.
• Integrity loss – There could be some lost integrity on the company’s part in terms of reputation, and the director himself may find his authority counts for less whilst in debt.

In most cases, a director’s loan account is expected to be settled. However, there are instances in which a loan can be written off.

Tax liability changes

Below is an illustration of the sorts of tax liability changes that can occur when a director’s loan is executed:

How Is A Director’s Loan Written Off?

A director’s loan account balance is written off through an extensive process:

1. Board approval – The company’s board must be formally approved, with the decision being documented and legitimised through company’s minutes and financial records.
2. Formal waiver – The company must formally release the director of the outstanding loan balance as a waiver, documented in writing.
3. Accounting treatment – The written-off amount is treated as an expense in the company accounts, reducing the company’s profit and potentially corporation tax liability.
4. Tax reporting – The write-off must be reported on the tax return of both the company and the director.
5. Disclosure – The write-off must be disclosed in the company financial statements.

Why Would A Director’s Loan Be Written Off?

There are no set reasons, as the company can conclude any way they wish, but common reasons are:

1. Insolvency process – If the company/director faces insolvency, then the outstanding loan may be considered unrecoverable and written off.
2. Director’s passing – Whether through leaving the company or death, the company may decide to write off the loan through the balance being small, most of it being paid, or simply due to the contributions outweighing the balance.
3. Mutual agreement – Upper management has a lot of dealings, and for any amount of factors, the loan could be written off.
4. Tax planning – Writing off a loan could be a great way to extract funds through tax diminishment.

How To Open A Director’s Loan Account?

Opening a director’s loan account is simple:

1. Choose an accounting system – Xero, QuickBooks, Sage – many accounting software packages have builtin features that allow for an easy setup of a director’s loan account.
2. Create the account – Create a new account specifically for the loan, whether it be a normal or an overdrawn directors loan account.
3. Record Transactions – From there, the system will be used to record transactions, showing a clear paper trail of money for mutually approved purposes.

So long as your director’s loan account is in credit (i.e. the company owes you money), you won’t need to worry about paying any taxes on these amounts. But should the account go into a debit state, you may find yourself with tax penalties as well as concerned shareholders. You should aim to keep your director’s loan account in credit or as close to zero as possible if you want to avoid any potential issues.

Additionally, if your director’s loan account is overdrawn, the interest paid on the loan can have significant tax implications. HMRC may impose interest charges, and you might be able to claim back corporation tax on the interest paid.

What Happens If I Can’t Pay Back My Director’s Loan?

If you can’t pay back your director’s loan before year-end, you will be taxed a corporation tax of 32.5%, which may be able to be reclaimed once you are in a financial position to repay your tax.

Additionally, the company will be required to pay national insurance contributions on the overdrawn loan amount if it is not repaid.

But if you’re in a position in which you don’t think you’ll be able to pay back this loan any time soon, you may want to look into writing off your director’s loan.

Conclusion

Writing off a director’s loan is not the ideal choice for every company. If you are in a sticky situation about director’s loans, you may want to speak to a professional financial advisor to help come up with the best way to deal with your director’s loan. One of the most important things to remember is that if you are a director of a company, you should never view the company’s money as your funds, and you should try to keep your business and personal finances as separate as possible.

FAQ: What does it mean to have your director’s loan account in credit?

When your director’s loan account is in credit, it technically means that your business owes you money, and you can make withdrawals until the balance is zero without any risk of being taxed on these amounts. It is very important to keep track of every transaction, though, and don’t take out any amount without recording it.

FAQ: How much can legally be borrowed as a director’s loan?

There is no legal limit to how high a director’s loan can be.

Company directors should also note that any loan taken from the business that is over £10,000 will be seen as a ‘benefit in kind’ and will need to be reported in your self-assessment tax return. You’ll also need to pay tax on this loan, as well as interest. So keep in mind that the larger the amount, the larger the risk.

FAQ: How long do I have to wait between paying back a director’s loan and then taking out another one?

Once you have paid back a director’s loan into your company’s funds, you need to wait at least 30 days before taking out a new one.

Certain rules apply for cases in which business owners try to evade taxes using ‘bed and breakfasting’.

What is “Bed and Breakfasting”?

“Bed and breakfasting” is a form of tax evasion that is punishable by law. If you sell assets at the end of a tax year, only to re-buy them again, you are realising a tax loss that you can claim whilst effectively losing no resources whatsoever. The Finance Act 1998 imposed the 30-day rule to stop companies from using the tax advantage.