Profits Tax Unincorporated Business

Chapter 13 Profits Tax: Unincorporated Business

1. Learning Objectives

1.1 Understand how to prepare a profits tax computation for a sole proprietor.
1.2 Understand how to prepare a profits tax computation for a partnership.

2. Introduction

2.1       Unincorporated (非公司) business include sole proprietorship and partnership. They are different from incorporated business in that they do not have a separate legal entity, and all drawings, remuneration including salaries, meals, interest on capital are treated as withdrawal of capital which are not deductible under Section 17(1)(c) and 17(2). Such items have to be added back to the profits tax computation of a sole-proprietor or a partnership.
2.2       Generally, the following items are not deductible expenses under profits tax for unincorporated business:
(a)        salaries paid or payable to sole proprietor, or partner or their spouses;
(b)        messing (伙食津貼), meal allowances, or interest on loan and capital paid or payable to sole proprietor, partners or their spouses;
(c)        drawings or withdrawals of capital by sole proprietor, partnerships or their spouses, and
(d)        rental expenses paid or payable to sole proprietor.

3. Sole Proprietor Business

3.1

KEY POINTS

(a)       All payments made to sole-proprietor and his or her spouses are not deductible under profits tax except that the rent paid or payable to the spouse. Of course, the spouse is taxable under property tax on the income so received.
(b)       Rent paid or payable to the sole proprietor is not deductible.
(c)       The payment of rent is added back to the profits tax computation of the sole proprietor business.

3.2 If a sole proprietor elects for personal assessment, it is the IRD’s practice to issue a profits tax assessment without a demand note for payment of profits tax. The assessable profits will be transferred to the personal assessment division for the issue of a personal assessment demand note.
3.3 If a sole proprietor does not elect for personal assessment, the IRD will issue a profits tax assessment with a demand note similar to that of a corporation.

4. Partnership Business

4.1	DEFINITION
	Partnership is defined as the relation which exists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit (s 3(1) Partnership Ordinance).

4.2 Under partnership law, each partner is jointly and severally (各自地) liable to the liability of the partnership in which he or she is a partnership. The consequence of Section 22(1) of the IRO is that in case the partnership does not pay its profits tax liability, the IRD may demand any partner to pay for the profits tax for the whole partnership not merely his or her own share of profits for the partnership.

4.3

KEY POINTS

The same rules of computation
(a)       deduction of rent paid by a partnership to a partner or his/her spouse is restricted to the assessable value of the relevant property (s 16(1)(b)
(b)       there is no deduction for salaries, or remuneration, interest on capital or loans paid to a partner or his/her spouse (s 17(2))
(c)       loss of a partner brought forward can only be used to set-off against his subsequent share of profit (s 19C(2))
(d)       the ability of a limited partner to use his share of loss to set-off his other income is restricted (s 22B)

4.4

EXAMPLE 1

(a) Mr Au, Mr Bau and Mr Chan have been in partnership for many years. They share profits/losses equally. The profit and loss account for the year ended 31 December 2008 contains the following information:

	$	$
Gross profit		350,000
Less: Partner’s salaries
- Mr Au	50,000
- Mr Bau	40,000
- Mr Chan	60,000
Salary to Mrs Au	50,000
Interest on capital
- Mr Au	11,000
- Mr Bau	12,000
- Mr Chan	14,000	(237,000)
Other expenses (all allowable)		(50,000)
Net profit		63,000

(b) Same information as in (a) except that the trading result is a net loss of $27,000 and the gross profit is $260,000.

Solution:
(a)
Au, Bau and Chan
Year of assessment 2008/09
Basis period: year ended 31 December 2008

	$	$
Profit per account		63,000
Add: Partner’s salaries	150,000
Salary to partner’s spouse	50,000
Interest on capital	37,000	237,000
Assessable profits		300,000

(b)
Year of assessment 2008/09
Basis period: year ended 31 December 2008

	$	$
Loss per account		(27,000)
Add: Partner’s salaries	150,000
Salary to partner’s spouse	50,000
Interest on capital	37,000	237,000
Assessable profits		210,000

(A) Allocation of partnership profits/losses

4.5 The share of profits/losses of each individual partner is ascertained in accordance with the profits/losses sharing arrangement during the basis period for the year of assessment concerned (s 22A(1)).

4.6

EXAMPLE 2

Mr B and Mr C are the partners of B, C and Co which closes its accounts up to 31 December each year. They share profits and losses equally. The agreed loss of the partnership for the year ended 31 December 2008 is $300,000. Mr B and Mr C drew salaries of $120,000 and $160,000 respectively during the calendar year 2008. Both Mr B and Mr C have not elected for personal assessment.

The loss computation and shares of loss for the year of assessment 2008/09 are shown below:

B, C and Co
Year of assessment 2008/09
Basis period: 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008

		$
Loss for the year c/f		(300,000)

Assessable profit		Nil

Allocation of loss

	Salary	Ratio	Residue	Total
	$		$	$
Mr B	120,000	1/2	(290,000)	(170,000)
Mr C	160,000	1/2	(290,000)	(130,000)
	280,000		(580,000)	(300,000)

* Loss ($300,000) – Salary $280,000 = ($580,000)

4.7       Allocation of profit/loss is necessary in the following situations:
(a)        where there is an overall loss in the partnership;
(b)        where a partner has a share of loss brought forward;
(c)        where a partner has elected personal assessment; and/or
(d)        where one of the partners is a corporation.

(B) Reallocation of profit/loss

4.8

KEY POINTS

(a) If after allocation, one/more partner(s) has/have losses, while one/more other partner(s) has/have profits, re-allocation has to be made.
(b) In case loss has been allocated to a partner and the partnership’s overall result is an assessable profit, the notional loss of that partner will be re-allocated to other partners who have profits according to the ratio of the profits allocated.

4.9

EXAMPLE 3

Mr Lam, Mr Mok and Mr Ng have been in partnership for many years. They share profits/losses equally. The profit and loss account for the year ended 31 March 2009 contains the following information:

		$
Gross profit		280,000
Less: Partners’ salaries
- Mr Lam	150,000
- Mr Mok	180,000
Interest on capital
- Mr Lam	40,000
- Mr Mok	40,000
- Mr Ng	40,000
		(450,000)
Other expenses (all allowable)		(100,000)
Loss for the year		(270,000

All partners have elected for personal assessment.

Lam, Mok and Ng
Year of assessment 2008/09
Basis period: year ended 31 March 2009

		$
Loss per account		(270,000)
Add: Partners’ salaries	330,000
Interest on capital	120,000	450,000
Assessable profits		180,000

Allocation of profit

	Mr Lam	Mr Mok	Mr Ng	Total
	$	$	$	$
Salary	150,000	180,000	-	330,000
Interest	40,000	40,000	40,000	120,000
	190,000	220,000	40,000	450,000
Residue (1:1:1)	(90,000)	(90,000)	(90,000)	(90,000)
	100,000	130,000	*(50,000)	180,000
Re-allocation (100:130)	(21,739)	(28,261)	50,000	-
Profits to be transferred to personal assessment	78,261	101,739	-	180,000

Notes:
(a) It is not possible for a partner to have a share of a loss from a partnership which earned a profit for the year of assessment. Re-allocation is necessary.
(b) Re-allocation is made in accordance with the ratio of the profits allocated (i.e. 100:130), not the usual profit-sharing ratio (1:1).

4.10

EXAMPLE 4

Bubble Co Ltd, Mr Chow and Mr Dao are in partnership. They share profit/losses in the ratio of 8:1:1 after charging salaries to Mr Chow and Mr Dao. The assessable profit for the year of assessment 2008/09 is $800,000 after adding back salaries of $100,000 to Mr Chow and $120,000 to Mr Dao. No loss has been brought forward from previous years, and no partner has elected for personal assessment.

Year of assessment 2008/09

		$
Assessable profits		800,000

Profits tax payable		126,960

Allocation of profit

	Bubble Co Ltd	Mr Chow	Mr Dao	Total
	$	$	$	$
Salary	-	100,000	120,000	220,000
Residue (8:1:1)	464,000	58,000	58,000	580,000
	464,000	158,000	178,000	800,000
Profits tax payable:
$464,000 at 16.5%				76,560
$336,000 at 15%				50,400
Total				126,960

4.11

EXERCISE 1

Black and White formed a partnership business called Grey’s Brothers Company. The company carries on a computer support business in HK. The two partners share profit and loss equally. The details of the company’s profit and loss account for the year ended 31 March 2008 are as follows:

	$	$
Services income		3,000,000
Sales of spare parts		200,000
		3,200,000
Less: Cost of sales of spare parts		120,000
		3,080,000
Less:
Salaries (Note 1)	800,000
Contributions to MPF (Note 2)	34,000
Rent and rates (Note 3)	630,000
Repairs and maintenance (Note 4)	350,000
Interest expenses (Note 5)	210,000
Charitable donations (Note 6)	100,000
Sundry expenses (Note 7)	85,000
Depreciation	200,000	2,409,000
Net profit for the year		671,000

Notes:

		$
1.	Salaries
	Paid to Black	300,000
	Paid to White	300,000
	Paid to staff	200,000
		800,000

2.	Contributions to MPF
	Paid for Black	12,000
	Paid for White	12,000
	Paid for staff	10,000
		34,000

3.	Rent paid to Black	600,000
	Rates paid to government	30,000
		630,000

4.	Repairs made to machines	110,000
	Repairs made to office	230,000
		350,000

5.	Interest paid to:
	Black’s wife	70,000
	A bank on a loan which was secured by Black’s property	125,000
	A friend of wife	15,000
		210,000

6.         Donations of $100,000 were paid to the Community Chest in the name of the partnership.
7.         All sundry expenses are tax deductible.
8.         The assessor agreed that the tax deductible depreciation allowance for the year of assessment 2008/09 is $160,000.

Required:

Calculate the profits tax payable by Grey’s Brothers Company for the year of assessment 2008/09 assuming Black elects for personal assessment while White does not elect for personal assessment.

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Profits Tax Unincorporated Business

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Profits Tax Unincorporated Business

Profits Tax Unincorporated Business

KEY POINTS

DEFINITION

KEY POINTS

EXAMPLE 1

EXAMPLE 2

KEY POINTS

EXAMPLE 3

EXAMPLE 4

EXERCISE 1

Profits Tax Unincorporated Business

Profits Tax Unincorporated Business

Profits Tax Unincorporated Business