Pension payments

Mr A is a screenwriter and a member of the Writers’ Guild Pension Fund. The guild’s agreements require the BBC ITV or an independent production company to pay the writer’s contribution (taken directly from the writer’s script fee) along with an “employer’s” contribution direct to his personal stakeholder pension fund.

Mr A was originally self-employed and we were advised to treat the “employer” contribution as additional taxable income and claim tax relief for both the writer’s pension contribution and the employer’s contribution.

The writer’s contribution was deducted/paid net of tax; it is not clear whether the “employer” contribution was paid net or gross.

Mr A recently incorporated and we are preparing the first accounts of his company B Ltd. We have been advised that the treatment of the pension contributions continues as before but are unsure whether this is correct and we cannot determine the appropriate accounting...