Will the taxman look askance...?

[Yodel]

As an investment I want to buy and renovate a house to sell on. My partner (romantic not business!) is a skilled tradesman so he will carry out the renovations, and his company will invoice me accordingly. Do you think the taxman will think this questionable, or will he be OK with it provided my partner invoices me at the going-rate. I'm worried they may think he's overcharging me deliberately so that I can reduce my profit and thereby my tax burden. (I'm a higher-rate tax payer so it would be better for my partner to pay corporation tax on his profits than it would be for me to pay personal income tax on my profits.)

[Hammer]

I doubt they will raise an eyebrow if everything else is above board. They probably won't even realise your builder is your partner, and even if they do, you are quite entitled to employ whoever you see fit to do the renovations.

I wouldn't worry about it.