UK tax guidance from Assetica for business owners with UAE ties, covering HMRC valuations, probate and inheritance tax, and cross-border share valuation.
UK tax valuations are prepared for a reader who is paid to disagree with them. This category covers share and business valuations prepared for HMRC purposes: employee share schemes, probate and inheritance, and disposals where the gain and the tax both depend on the figure reported. The discipline is the same in each case. State the basis of value on the face of the report, fix the valuation date, show the normalisation adjustments rather than asserting them, and set out the limitations honestly. A valuation that hides its assumptions is the one that gets challenged.
When does HMRC require a business or share valuation?
Whenever a tax outcome depends on the value of shares or a business. The common triggers are employee share schemes, probate and inheritance, and disposals where the gain and the tax both follow the figure reported. In each case the valuation is evidence, so it has to state its basis and show its workings.
What makes a valuation defensible to HMRC?
Four things. A stated basis of value on the face of the report, a fixed valuation date, normalisation adjustments shown rather than asserted, and limitations set out honestly. A report that claims no limitations and sources none of its inputs is the one most likely to be challenged.
Can the same valuation be used for HMRC and a UAE authority?
The underlying analysis can and should be the same. The presentation usually differs, because each authority asks for a different emphasis. What matters is that one set of normalised earnings and one valuation date sit behind both, so the two documents cannot be set against each other.
Assetica is an independent business valuation firm in Dubai. We do not audit and we do not broker deals, so the number carries no conflict. Book a scoping call or see the core business valuation service.