| wear and tear | An allowance that is tax deductible for the cost of furniture and fittings provided in dwelling houses which are let out furnished. |
| widow | A woman who was married but whose husband has died. |
| widowed mother's allowance | A pension you receive from the Department of Social Security following the death of your husband provided you are aged between 45 and 60 and you have children or are pregnant. |
| widower | A man who was married but whose wife has died. |
| widow's bereavement allowance | The extra allowance a widow received in the tax year of her husband's death, and the following tax year. Abolished from 6 April 2000. |
| widow's pension | A pension you receive from the Department of Social Security following the death of your husband, provided you were aged between 45 and 65 when your husband died or when you ceased to be entitled to a widowed mother's allowance. It is reduced if you were then under the age of 55. If your husband was employed, you might also be entitled to a widow's pension from his former employer. |
| withholding tax | Foreign tax which is deducted in the foreign country when income is paid to you. |
| work in progress | Partially manufactured stock you have on hand, or partially completed work on contracts under which you provide your service. |
| work related expenses | Expenses which you incur in carrying out your employment. |
| working families tax credit | A form of social security family income supplement, payable to families where one or more persons are in employment and have a PAYE code. The benefit is normally awarded for a period of twenty six weeks. From October 1999 payments were made directly by the Inland Revenue but from April 2000 employers of claimants will be instructed to make payments of WFTC along with salary or wages, on behalf of the Government . The employer does not know on what basis the benefit entitlement or amount has been worked out. The WFTC paid out (as far as the employer is concerned) can be is met out of the total tax and NIC which is deducted through the payroll and which the employer would normally hand over to the Inland Revenue. For this reason the payment is called a tax credit. However it is not a true tax credit in the hands of the recipient and does not require to be reported on your tax return. Nor should it enter into any calculations you or the Inland Revenue may make of your outstanding tax liability or rebate due at the end of the tax year. |
| writing down allowances | Capital allowances given against tax for the cost of certain fixed assets on a year by year basis. May be replaced by first year allowances in the year the expenditure is incurred, and by a balancing allowance or balancing charge in the year the asset is sold. |
| written down value | The cost of an asset, such as a car, after deducting amounts written off. For tax purposes it is the cost less capital allowances given to date. The expenditure on items of plant and machinery may be pooled to facilitate the calculation of capital allowances. In this case the written down value will be the total of expenditure incurred, less any proceeds of sale, less any capital allowances given, and plus any balancing charges made. |