Q. In September 2013 I started working through my own company but I haven't drawn a salary yet. Can I award myself tax free childcare vouchers as an employee of my company? I was previously on a salary of £50,000 with my former employer. Would that affect the amount of childcare vouchers I can receive tax free in this tax year?

A. As an employee of your company you can receive childcare vouchers. The other conditions of a childcare voucher scheme must also be met, For example, all other employees of your company should be offered childcare vouchers on the same terms. Your previous salary is not relevant to the amount of tax free childcare vouchers you can receive from your current employer. If your expected salary for this tax year (don't include dividends or bonuses you may receive), will be less than the basic rate band - pro rata over the rest of the year, you can receive the maximum of £55 of tax free childcare vouchers per week.

Q. I've just won a sports car! The snag is the prize is only available from the company's headquarters in Seattle, USA, although there is a cash alternative. Are there any tax implications of accepting the prize in the form of the car or as cash?

A. Most states in the USA impose a tax on competition prizes, but the awarding company may allow for that. There is no similar tax in the UK. If you take the car and ship it back to the UK there will be import duties and VAT to pay, so the cash alternative may be more tax efficient.

Q. The Taxman has written to me saying I missed a small pension worth about £800 a year from my last tax return. He hasn't noticed that I also missed it off the last four tax returns. What should I do?

A. Best advice is to come clean immediately and tell the Taxman about all the missing amounts of pension income for all tax years. There may not be more tax to pay if the pension provider has already deducted tax at your marginal tax rate. However, if there is higher rate tax to pay there will also be interest due at 3% and possibly a penalty. By confessing all without delay you can qualify for a reduced penalty, down to say 15% of the tax due. We can help you with those penalty negotiations and may be able to get it suspended for up to two years.

Q. After purchasing a residential property to let, I spent a considerable amount on kitchen refurbishments and a new central-heating boiler, before letting it for the first time. Can I claim those costs against the rents for tax purposes?

A. It depends on whether the property was capable of being let before you carried out those refurbishments. If it was legally safe to let it - then the expenditure was probably 'repairs' and is allowable. If the property was in such a bad state that it could not be let to anyone, even on a tiny rent, the costs are likely to count as improvements and will not be allowable. We need to look at the detail of what work was done, and the context of your entire lettings business before we give you a final answer.

Q. I'm going to represent my company on an official UK trade mission to Australia, organised by my trade body. It will involve meetings with Australian potential clients over four days in two cities. My wife will accompany me on the trip, but she will not take part in the meetings. We will stay on in Australia to enjoy a short holiday. How should I split the costs between business and personal?

A. Your wife's share of the costs, such as air-fares and hotel bills, are not a business expense, so you need to personally reimburse your company for those costs. Any expenses relating to the holiday part of the trip (e.g. hotel and car hire expenses) should also be borne by you personally, not by your company.

Q. My daughter is now studying at University, but she worked full-time after leaving school in June and had tax deducted from all of her wages. Can she claim that tax back now, or does she have to wait until the end of the tax year?

A. She can claim the tax back now, and doesn't have to wait until the end of the tax year on 5 April 2014 to receive her tax refund. She needs to complete form P50 and send to HMRC.

However, if she expects to work again in the Christmas holidays, she may want to wait until she has completed that stint of work to reclaim all of the tax deducted in one go.

Q. There is an offer in my area to lease an electric car for two years, to help test the electric charging infrastructure installed by the council. Can my company take advantage of the tax breaks if I lease the car?

A. No. If the lease for the car is in your personal name your company cannot claim the 100% capital allowances which are available for electric and low-emissions vehicles. If the car will be used for your business we can help you crunch the numbers to see if it would be worthwhile for your company to purchase or lease the car and claim the allowances. However, from 6 April 2015 there will be a tax charge for your personal use of the electric car.