Personal Tax Return Deadline Approaches

Completing a personal tax return can be a stressful, complex task and an unwanted hassle for self assessment taxpayers. At Tax Affinity we provide a simple, price competitive service to alleviate your concerns over personal tax returns.

If you currently complete your own tax return then you could certainly benefit from our services to ensure that you don’t overpay on tax. Mistakes on your tax return could cost you a significant amount and it is therefore worth taking advantage of expert advice to make sure you report the correct level of taxable income. We will assess all of your income and expenses information to ensure you minimise your tax liability.

If you are already taking advantage of our tax help, please ensure you send us all your income and expenses information (bank statements, invoices and receipts) for the period 6th April 2012- 5th April 2013 as soon as possible. With the busy Christmas and New Year period approaching, it is vital that we receive all this information in the next 3-4 weeks so we can ensure all of our clients’ tax returns are submitted before the deadline.

By leaving your tax return right up until the last minute you risk incurring a late filing penalty. Here is a summary of the HMRC penalty charges you may face:

Length of Delay - Penalty incurred

1 day late

A penalty charge of £100 even if you have no tax liability for the year or have paid the tax you owe

3 months late

A penalty charge of £10 per day up to a maximum of 90 days- £900. This is on top of the initial £100 charge.

6 months late

£300 or 5% of the tax due (whichever is higher). On top of the penalties listed above

12 months late

An additional £300 or 5% of tax due. However, in certain cases the charge may be up to 100% of the tax due or higher.

Please avoid any of these penalties by sending us all your information as soon as possible. Feel free to pop into the office or just email us the necessary documents. Rushing a tax return can result in a number of unnecessary errors so please ensure you get on top of the situation in the coming weeks.

By Tom Hoadley at Tax Affinity.

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they regularly submit tax returns for their clients peace of mind, providing a great value for money service for people from all walks of life.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.

Keep your Business Cash Flow in check.

The success of your business is dependent on the way you manage the cash flow of the business. A business could be highly profitable but still default if it does not meet its short term debts. There may be times when it is unavoidable to experience cash flow reductions, such as spending your reserved cash on new capital or suffering from unexpected weather conditions that forces the business to close for a while. However, it is definitely unhealthy for the business to suffer cash flow problems on a regular basis and it may cause harm for the business in the long term. Good cash flow management and contingency planning will allow majority of these problems to vanish.  Here are a few ideas on how you can improve your cash flow cycle.

Operating at a Loss

Many new businesses may operate at a loss in their first few years of trading. The costs of starting up a business normally exceed profits. However, if the business is over 3 years old and still making a loss, it may be of your best interest to carefully monitor your expenditure to ensure that money is not spent needlessly or on the wrong things.

Having a Clear System

A good system can ease out any fluctuations in your cash flow cycle. For example, a service provider can think about taking an upfront deposit of any project it undertakes or charging on a completion basis. Not only will it keep money available for short term use but allows more effective tax planning as profits is smoothed over periods.

Keeping Up-to-Date

It is good practice to review your credit control on a specific day every week. Keeping a routine check-up allows you to clearly identify what has been paid, what is pending and what is late.

Paying your Bills by their Due Date

You should always pay your bills on time. However, it is better to pay your bills as close to the due date as possible. It is advisable to pay around 3-4 days before the due date so that any issues arising in regards to the payment can be rectified in time.

Giving Customer Incentives for Early Payment

Offering discounts to new customers to encourage prompt payment can be beneficial for your company cash flow. Bear in mind that discounts should not be too deep otherwise it will eat into your profit margins. You can also offer discounts to recurring customers that make large payments in order to reduce the risk of cash flow problems arising from delayed payments.

Penalties for the Late

Often people do not react to rewards quite the way they react to punishments. Giving customers a penalty fine for any late payments will likely grab their attention and prioritise you on their payment list. Don’t be too harsh on late payments though as others may have temporary issues with their cash flows and imposing a penalty may end up hurting business relations. 

Saving for a Rainy Day

Unexpected occurrences and accidents can happen out of the blue. Make sure you put aside some reserves for one of those “emergency” situations. Not all situations can be accounted for but having enough funds to deal with the likely ones can let you breathe a bit easier.

Seeking Professional Help

Many businesses struggle to keep their finances in check. The unfamiliarity of running a business and being unable to cope with numbers can be a grinding headache for business owners. An easy way to relieve the ongoing stress is by hiring an expert bookkeeper like Tax Affinity. They can advise you on managing your costs, list strategies to improve your revenue and also handle your tax affairs all. You can now focus on driving your business forward rather than being worried about the upcoming loan repayment. Take note on how the company finances are handled so that you are able to step in if needed.

By Wilson Law at Tax Affinity.

Tax Affinity Accountants are considered in the market to be experts in Tax and Accountancy in the UK. Based in Kingston upon Thames they have clients are right across the UK as well as Europe, Middle East and North America.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.