Q. My business needs to move to smaller cheaper premises, but my current landlord wants me to pay a fee to surrender the property lease earlier than the next break point. Can I claim that lease-surrender payment as a business expense?

A. Unfortunately you can't get a tax deduction for this payment to your landlord, as a fee to release you from the continuing obligation to make payments under the lease is regarded as a capital payment. There is also no tax relief for this payment under the capital gains tax rules as it doesn't represent a cost of purchase or a cost of disposal of an asset. So for you it's a 'tax nothing'.

Q. My office junior is paid exactly the national minimum wage (NMW). Do I have to put his wages up from 1 October 2012?

A. It depends how old your employee is. From 1 October 2012 the NMW rate for those aged 21 and over rises from £6.08 to £6.19 per hour and the apprentice rate is increased to £2.65 per hour. However the rates for 16 to 20 year olds have not been increased.

Q. I'm a painter and decorator, working mainly for individual householders. I only give out an invoice for work done if my customer asks for one. Is this acceptable to the Taxman? I'm not VAT registered.

A. As you are not VAT registered there is no legal requirement to issue invoices for every sale, but it is good business practice. If you accurately record the money you receive from customers, and those amounts can be tied up to the cash and cheques you bank, the Taxman should not have a problem with your business records. However, if the Taxman suspects that you have been under-recording your sales, because you receive many payments in cash which are not immediately banked, you may have a problem. We can help you set up a system which will accurately record your sales, and keep the Taxman happy.

Q. I am employed by a charity that provides me with a Skoda Yeti car as my work involves transporting disabled people. I pay for all the petrol, but the charity reimburses me for work-related journeys at 15p per mile. This rate has not changed since June 2011, although the price of petrol has increased. Can I claim back any more of my petrol costs for work journeys from the Tax Office?

A. Unfortunately not. The advisory fuel rate for cars with petrol engines of up to 1400cc is 15p per mile and it hasn't changed since 1 June 2011. The rates for LPG cars and diesels have moved slightly over that period but not much. You could ask your employer to pay more per mile, but you will then be taxed on the excess above 15p per mile, unless you can show your car is particularly fuel-hungry, which is unlikely for a Skoda.

Q. My business recently bought an e-book reader from an online retailer. It will be used for business purposes but the retailer is refusing to provide me with a VAT invoice, saying their products are not provided for business purposes, so VAT invoices are not provided to VAT registered customers. How can I get the VAT invoice I need to claim back the VAT charged to my business?

A. If the customer (you) asks for a VAT invoice the supplier must provide one, but in practice you can't force the retailer to comply with the VAT law. As long as you have documentary evidence that VAT was charged - the amount and rate - and evidence that you have tried to obtain a VAT invoice, you can reclaim the VAT charged in your VAT return.

Q. I own a number of rental properties but this year I've been sued over unpaid service charges. The dispute has been resolved, but I've been left with legal costs. Can I deduct those legal costs from the property rental income for the year?

A. In general any legal fees associated with acquiring or improving the property or defending the title to the property or extending a lease on a property cannot be deducted from the rental income, as they are capital expenditure. Other legal fees associated with annual bills or service charges should be allowable. You should keep all the paper work associated with the dispute just in case the Taxman asks about the legal fees in future.

Q. I run my own company from an office in a spare bedroom at home, and my wife runs a separate company from a downstairs office in the same house. Can we both claim £3 per week expenses for use of home from our companies? Would the situation be different if we both worked full time for the same company?

A. Yes, you can both claim the use of home expense allowance, which is now £4 per week as from 6 April 2012. It makes no difference whether you both work for the same company or for different companies.