Yesterday’s budget reminded me that there are still considerable tax benefits to owning your own business, beyond the normal personal tax choices of taking salary, or dividends.

The Chancellor has for a start not only continued with the Entrepreneur Relief Rate of 10% but expanded it up to a value of £5M. Now many entrepreneurs busy beavering away on growing their business, may not even know about this advantage. But if your hard work and persistence results in a successful business, you may want to sell it, or even just retire from it at some point.

When you do sell it, instead of paying the current Capital Gains Tax rate, you can just pay 10%. That’s a fantastic benefit and most people are not aware of it. There are of course certain requirements you must meet, such as at least owning 5% of voting shares in the company for longer than a year, so check with your accountant.

Interestingly it also includes selling just a share of the business, business property (not letting properties though) and your own property that may have been used for a business, so lots for an accountant to have fun with.

There’s more… how about not paying any Inheritance Tax (IHT) on a major asset left to your children, partner or beneficiary of your will? That is exactly the case with a business. If you leave your business to someone when you die (sorry to be morbid, but it’s important), the beneficiaries pay no tax on it.

Given you’ve worked hard to build the business up, it’s comforting to know that if the worst happens, your family or dependants could inherit that business without giving the taxman part of it. Not the case with most other assets.

There’s just a couple more reasons for being an entrepreneur and for a change hard work does get it’s rewards.