Right now for many business owners every penny counts. So reviewing what your business outlays are is essential to see if savings that can made. Whilst necessary for keeping on top of your business finances, one cost outlay that often creeps up on people is the amount that they spend on their accounting software. Over time this cost may have increased from your … [Read more...]
Cost of living crisis help – how to earn £9,500 without paying tax
It won't come as a shock to anyone that we’re slap bang in the middle of a cost of living crisis. Making ends meet and paying all your bills on time is obviously a priority for most people at the moment. To help it's worth reminding people about three tax free benefits that could be advantageous to the household coffers. Earn £7,500 from renting a room in your house Known as … [Read more...]
Accounting Tips for Start up Freelancers
Entering the world of self employment and being your own boss is extremely exciting. The one downside is dealing with the bureaucracy and regulation that running a business brings. Whatever the size or structure of your business dealing with your accounts and tax returns comes with the territory. It can all seem daunting and overwhelming at first. Here’s a few tips to … [Read more...]
How to extend your accounts filing deadline HACK – Limited Company
If you are operating a limited company then you probably know that your accounts have to be filed at Companies House nine months after the end of your accounting year end - unless it’s the first year when the filing deadline is 21 months after the date of incorporation. This usually gives sufficient time to get things in order, do the necessary bookkeeping and file … [Read more...]
How to treat business costs incurred before you start trading
Before a business gets off the ground there are often a few start up costs incurred. Wholly and Exclusively Such costs can be recorded in the business accounts and claimed against tax assuming that they have been "wholly and exclusively" incurred for the business; that's the accounting term used for business costs and the test that HMRC will apply to check if the cost can be … [Read more...]
Salary and Dividends for 2022 / 2023
Your profit extraction Strategy from April 2022 It’s that time of the year when I update our annual blog advising those operating via a Limited Company on how to extract money from their business to pay themselves. This year the blog is different. I am not going to be setting out what you should pay yourself in a salary and how much tax you’ll pay on this and … [Read more...]
Self Assessment Q&A
What is a Self Assessment? A Self Assessment is the Tax Return (referred to by the abbreviation SATR) that self employed people, or those with income not taxed at source, in the UK complete each year. Who has to complete a SATR? You will be asked to complete a Self Assessment Tax Return if you are self employed as a sole trader or in a partnership. You will also need to … [Read more...]
What Dividends do you put on your Self Assessment?
If you operate your business via a Limited Company you’ll likely receive remuneration for your efforts via a salary and dividends. As well as doing all of the filing of accounts and Corporation Tax Returns for your Limited Company, if you have untaxed income such as Dividends upon which Dividend Tax is due, you will need to complete a Self Assessment Tax Return. What is the … [Read more...]
10 things you should know about payments on account if you’re self-employed
Many self-employed people (AKA sole traders) who complete a Self-Assessment tax return for the first time are left somewhat baffled when their tax bill is much bigger than expected. It happens because after they file their first Self-Assessment tax return, they find out they need to make a “payment on account”. But, what are payments on account and what key things should … [Read more...]
Christmas Tax Allowable Party – time to plan your annual knees up!
Like previous years we’ve updated our allowable costs for your Christmas Party blog. To make sure that the costs for your Christmas Party qualify as allowable there are just a few simple rules to follow. The Rules The party or event needs to be open to all employees It is an annual occurrence but doesn't have to be at Christmas The event mustn’t … [Read more...]
The Effortlessness that is Accounting!
Back in the day the world of accounting was shrouded in secrecy with grey suited accountants weaving some Harry Potter type magic over your invoices, receipts and bank statements after you’d dropped them off at shiny offices, with the aroma of freshly ground coffee percolating through the air covering up the stink of the expensive fees. Then the shocker of a tax … [Read more...]
What is a Year End for a Limited Company
The year end for your business is also called your accounting reference date - it's the same thing! It's the date up to which your accounts are prepared and is generally the end of a calendar month although it can be any date. For example 31st December or 31st March. Depending on your business type the year end can be set by you or it could have been already … [Read more...]