What are the tax implications of running a franchise?

As far as I am aware, there are no tax rules that are specific to franchising. Therefore, franchisees come under the same legislation as that which relates to any sole trader or limited company.  These are mostly income tax, national insurance and VAT for the sole trader, plus corporation tax for the limited company. When you eventually sell your business, you will also need to plan for capital gains tax.  The first decision to take is whether to operate as a sole trader or limited company. You ought to engage an accountant who can give you advice based on your specific circumstances, such as how best to pay yourself a salary, dividends or pension contributions to minimise tax liability.  The most important thing to do is keep all the receipts relating to the set-up and operation of your business, even from many months before you start trading, as a good accountant will use these to maximise the deductions you are able to make from your income before you start paying tax.  It is worth noting that many franchisors now recommend a centralised book-keeping and accounting service run by The Franchise Support Centre (0871 575 5577), which takes the administrative burden away from franchisees and allows them to concentrate on building their business.