Personal Taxes
The UK has the longest tax code in the world, so preparing even the most straightforward tax return can be complicated. There are various deadlines and responsibilities for taxpayers to be aware of;
The most common reasons that a tax return may be required are as follows:
- You are self eployed or a partner in a partnership
- You are a company director
- You have large amounts of savings or investment income
- You have untaxed savings or investment income
- You own land or property that is being let
- Your household receives Child Benefit and you have income in excess of £50,000
- You have income from overseas
- You have sold or given an asset away (such as a holiday home or some shares)
- You’ve lived or worked abroad or aren’t domiciled in the UK
The staff at HM Revenue & Customs are not tasked to advise you on how to organise your affairs and minimise your tax. Therefore, if you want to make sure you are paying the right amount of tax, you should consult a professional
At Hawkseye Accountants we use HM Revenue & Customs-approved software to:
- Complete your tax return
- Calculate your tax liability
- File the return online
- Liaise with you on the amounts to be paid and when they are due
As part of the above service, we can analyse your self assessment tax return to see if any tax savings can be made and we can also review the form to see if there are any anomalies that need to be addressed before the return is submitted.
By giving you a fixed, competitive price, we can take the worry away when it comes to self assessment tax returns; allowing you to concentrate on running your business.
Business Taxes
Comprehensive online accountancy services for your limited company business with dedicated accountant to help you complete effective tax management returns;
For sole traders and partnerships, year end accounts will form the basis of the business owners’ self assessment tax return.
For a partnership, the year end accounts will also state the balance on each partner’s current account. For owner-managed limited companies, the limited company accounts will house details of the directors’ salaries and the dividends paid to shareholders, which will need to tally with their self assessment tax return.
The year end accounts provide invaluable information about your business. You can see if the margin on your sales prices is set appropriately and how the latest performance compares to last year. Movements in sales and expenses are laid bare, allowing you to make better decisions in the future. Anomalies are highlighted and can then be investigated. Having year end accounts brings you closer to your business and will help drive success.
Banks will also prefer to see a set of accounts for self employed applicants looking to raise finance or apply for a mortgage.
Payroll & HR
At HawksEye Accountants we can offer you a full payroll service with plenty of options to suit you and your business.If your business has expanded and you need to employ more people then it’s understandable to feel daunted by the duties required to run a payroll on top of everything else you need to do. Meeting your obligations as an employer to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can be confusing and time-consuming. Furthermore the increased responsibilities to your employees surrounding auto enrolment pension contributions can really add to the workload.
By working with
it’s possible to maintain your responsibilities as an employer, while freeing yourself of the day-to-day concerns that payroll can bring.
We can provide you with access to a payroll portal which enables you to easily manage employee working hours, securely store employee information, such as payslips and other related documents plus manage all annual leave for your staff using the employee calendar provided within the payroll portal.
Equally if you don’t wish to use these online facilities we can offer you a payroll service that is tailored to your needs.
Either way, we can oversee your payroll processes, costs, calculations and deadlines to take care of everything for your business.
If you are worried about any aspects of employment law then we can help you here too. We’ve teamed up with Employment or who can offer you a legal helpline to answer any queries you may have about employing people and they can provide letter and contract templates to make the process smoother for you.
For a free initial meeting to discuss all your payroll or employment related needs, please call us today or drop us a line using our online enquiry form.
Deciding on a Year End
Limited companies, partnerships and sole traders are free to pick whatever year end they like.
Many business owners will pick a calendar year or the tax year (either 31st March or 5th April). Picking the tax year will make your tax liability based on the latest finalised accounts and therefore as current as possible. Consequently, some business owners prefer to have a tax year end, because they have a better feel for what their tax liability might be. Opting for the 31st March or 5th April will also avoid any complicated overlap relief calculations for sole traders or partners.
Alternatively, you might choose a year end that suits your business – a quiet time of the year when you can have the time get everything together: count up stock and summarise your unbilled work, etc.
If you have other business interests, think about making the year ends all the same. This means the deadlines are easier to remember because they will be similar but does also mean they all come at once!
You should look to prepare sole traders accounts and partnership accounts well ahead of the tax return deadline of 31st January. Companies typically have nine months from their year end to complete their accounts, but it’s always best to check on Companies House’s website what the company accounts filing deadline is.
Give yourself as much time to prepare the accounts as possible. Rushing can lead to errors and there may be receipts or bank statements you need to find. It also allows you to consider if you’ve claimed everything you’re entitled to and whether there are any tax planning opportunities available.
Bookkeeping
Limited companies, partnerships and sole traders are free to pick whatever year end they like.
Many business owners will pick a calendar year or the tax year (either 31st March or 5th April). Picking the tax year will make your tax liability based on the latest finalised accounts and therefore as current as possible. Consequently, some business owners prefer to have a tax year end, because they have a better feel for what their tax liability might be. Opting for the 31st March or 5th April will also avoid any complicated overlap relief calculations for sole traders or partners.
Alternatively, you might choose a year end that suits your business – a quiet time of the year when you can have the time get everything together: count up stock and summarise your unbilled work, etc.
If you have other business interests, think about making the year ends all the same. This means the deadlines are easier to remember because they will be similar but does also mean they all come at once!
You should look to prepare sole traders accounts and partnership accounts well ahead of the tax return deadline of 31st January. Companies typically have nine months from their year end to complete their accounts, but it’s always best to check on Companies House’s website what the company accounts filing deadline is.
Give yourself as much time to prepare the accounts as possible. Rushing can lead to errors and there may be receipts or bank statements you need to find. It also allows you to consider if you’ve claimed everything you’re entitled to and whether there are any tax planning opportunities available.
Tax Planning
Whether you have just started your business or have been in business for a long time, Hawkseye Accountants can help you with your tax planning needs.
If you are looking to make tax savings but do not want to attempt to interpret detailed tax legislation, we would recommend seeking the advice of a professional. We offer all clients tax planning reviews and try to ensure they only pay as much tax as they are legally obliged to and no more!
Whatever your tax planning needs are, we will endeavor to find a tax saving scheme to suit your circumstances so make sure you contact us, especially as there may be more specific tax planning tips and tax advice available for your business sector.
We have included a series of tax tips below which provide general guidance on various tax saving strategies and should answer some of your tax questions.
Employing your spouse in the business
If you are self-employed and your spouse helps out with general administration, or any other role, it is quite legitimate to pay your spouse a salary.
However, there are a few rules that need to be followed, such as how much to pay your spouse and to keep evidence that the payments were made during the year.
Sole traders with higher rate tax liabilities will benefit significantly from this arrangement if their spouse is a non taxpayer or lower rate taxpayer, and further tax savings could be made by making pension contributions.
Low interest loans provided by employers
It may be possible for a company to lend an employee up to £10,000 with no tax implications for them, provided they are not a director. This can be useful if say the employee needs to buy his company car to avoid benefit in kind tax charges.
Stock valuation
Stock should be valued at cost but can be valued at ‘net realisable value’ if this is a lower figure. Essentially this means valued at what you could sell the stock in an open market sale. Lowering the value of closing stock will £ for £ reduce taxable profits.
Recover VAT
Recover VAT on some invoices that you have paid or received before you registered for VAT by including the input VAT on your first return. Make sure you have the VAT invoices and keep a schedule of the adjustments you have made. Be careful though, there are time limits and rules for this recovery measure so be sure to speak with your accountant!
Capital Gains Tax – Using Home as Office
If you claim tax relief for the use of a room as an office there can be a tax charge when you later sell your home, however we can advise you of measures that can be taken to help to minimise a Capital Gains Tax liability.
Capital Gains Tax – Selling Property
If you have Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to pay, for example because you’ve sold a holiday home or rental property, you will need to complete a tax return. From April 2020, you must report and pay the CGT to HMRC within 30 days of completion. TaxAssist Accountants can advise you on any tax planning opportunities available, in order to minimise your liability. We can also complete your tax return and 30 day report for you.
Cash Flow Management
We can assist individuals and businesses with the preparation of their cashflow projections, budgets and business projections as and when required
A cash flow forecast is probably one of the most important management reports you will use as it shows how cash is expected to flow in and out of your business and how much funding/investment it needs.
These reports are key to understanding your business and planning for the future and are typically required by lenders when you want to borrow. Building a cash flow forecast is essential for any business.
To help you control your cash flow and protect your business in a post-COVID-19 climate, we have provided a dedicated hub of information on cash flow management here
Whether you are using a cash flow forecast to plan for the future, to support funding/loan applications or to understand cash flow shortages, we can provide an accurate and comprehensive service specifically tailored to suit your business’ requirements.
We can help by:
- Preparing a cash flow forecast for you or helping you to develop one yourself.
- Reviewing you existing forecast to provide a critical eye to your plans and the assumptions that underpin your forecast.
- Advising you on what steps to take next, whether that is accessing funding, helping you make informed business decisions or identifying areas where support is required.
- Applying our knowledge of cloud based accounting and cash flow solutions to ensure you maximise the financial data available to you.
VAT Returns
Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for a long time, HawksEye Accountants can help you meet your VAT responsibilities
If you’re just starting out, we can help you decide whether you need to be VAT registered from the outset or not. And we will continue to monitor your situation, so that should it become obligatory for you to register for VAT, we can deal with all of the paperwork for you.
In contrast, we will also monitor your position for when we think you are able to and would benefit from deregistering.
Whether a new or existing business, we will also look at the VAT schemes you are eligible for and establish whether you would be better off adopting one or a mixture of them. Some VAT schemes can lead to tax savings and a reduction in bookkeeping responsibilities.
We can prepare your VAT return; either from your own bookkeeping records or we can take care of your record keeping and the VAT return. And we will try to ensure that you claim as much VAT as possible, particularly on contentious items such as mixed-use expenditure and motor running costs.
As with other areas of tax, we can act as your Agent for VAT purposes and therefore correspond with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on your behalf. Paper VAT returns are pretty scarce now but our software also allows us to file your VAT returns online with HMRC.
Needless to say, late VAT registration, errors, late VAT returns and late VAT payments can all lead to penalties and possibly interest being charged. So allowing us to take care of your VAT affairs, not only gives you peace of mind, but it should also avoid you wasting your hard-earned cash on penalties and interest.
Tax Investigations
Are you aware that HM Revenue and Customs no longer need a reason for opening an enquiry into your business or personal affairs? This means that potentially everyone is at risk of a tax investigation
TaxAssist Accountants can offer you a Tax Investigation Service which covers the cost of work we have to do towards an investigation.
The costs associated with an investigation can be devastating, and even if you are successful in defending yourself against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), you cannot recover your costs from the tax authority. But with this service, we feel that you will have peace of mind should you be investigated.
Furthermore, we have access to experienced consultants (paid for by the insurance company) to assist through the investigation to make sure it is resolved as quickly as possible using experts.
How can I avoid an investigation by HMRC?
One of the best ways to protect against an investigation would be to employ an accountant first and foremost. Using an accountant should ensure that your tax return is accurate and complies with the UK tax regime.
HMRC does, however, carry out a number of random investigations which are, unfortunately, unavoidable. So even if you believe that there are no unusual entries in your accounts or on your tax returns, an investigation could still happen to you.
We are here to help
We offer competitive pricing with flexible appointment times and are dedicated to offering a professional, friendly service. If you wish to be protected using this tax investigation service (sometimes referred to as fee protection) then speak with us today or drop us a line using our online enquiry form.