 Tax Affinity Accountants with their high street branches The Smart Move: Why You Should Use a Tax Accountant for Your Self-Assessment
In the world of personal finance, few things are as certain as taxes. Each year, individuals across the globe prepare to navigate the labyrinth of tax regulations, deductions, and forms required for their self-assessment. While some opt for the DIY approach, a growing number are discovering the numerous benefits of enlisting the expertise of a tax accountant. In this blog post, we'll explore why using a tax accountant for your self-assessment is not just a smart choice but often a financially savvy one. 1. Expertise and Knowledge: Tax accountants are professionals who specialize in tax laws and regulations. They stay up-to-date with the latest changes in tax codes and have the experience to navigate complex financial situations. This expertise can help you minimize your tax liability legally. 2. Maximize Deductions and Credits: Tax accountants have a keen eye for identifying deductions and credits that you might overlook. Their attention to detail can result in significant savings, ensuring you're not paying more taxes than necessary. 3. Reduce Stress and Save Time: Preparing your own taxes can be time-consuming and stressful. It often involves sifting through a mountain of paperwork and deciphering intricate tax jargon. Hiring a tax accountant frees up your time and reduces the stress associated with tax season. 4. Avoid Costly Mistakes: Filing taxes incorrectly can lead to penalties and audits. Tax accountants are trained to minimize errors and ensure that your return is accurate, reducing the risk of costly mistakes that can haunt you later. 5. Year-Round Assistance: A tax accountant's support isn't limited to just tax season. They can offer financial advice throughout the year, helping you make informed decisions to optimize your tax situation and financial health. 6. Audit Protection: If you're audited by tax authorities, having a tax accountant on your side can be invaluable. They can guide you through the audit process and ensure that your rights are protected. 7. Customized Strategies: Tax accountants can create personalized tax strategies that align with your financial goals. They consider your unique circumstances to help you make the most of available tax benefits. 8. Peace of Mind: Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of hiring a tax accountant is the peace of mind it brings. Knowing that a professional is handling your taxes can alleviate anxiety and allow you to focus on other aspects of your life. 9. Cost Savings: Contrary to common belief, hiring a tax accountant can often result in cost savings. The deductions and credits they can uncover, combined with the reduction in errors, can more than offset their fees. 10. Legal and Ethical Compliance: Tax accountants operate within the bounds of the law and adhere to ethical standards. This ensures that your taxes are filed ethically and legally, eliminating any worries about potential legal repercussions. In conclusion, the decision to use a tax accountant like Tax Affinity for your self-assessment is an investment in your financial well-being. Their expertise, ability to maximize savings, and dedication to compliance can make the process smoother, more accurate, and less stressful. Ultimately, it's a smart move that can pay dividends in terms of both financial savings and peace of mind. So, this tax season, consider enlisting the help of a tax accountant like Tax Affinity and reap the rewards of a stress-free and financially optimized experience. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are the number rated and recommended Tax Accountants in London. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for both individuals and small & medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting both individuals and limited company owners / self employed people throughout the UK and the world, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success. 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.
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a Tax Accountants Experience and expertise is highly valued in tax planning and hmrc investigations5/22/2023
 Tax Affinity expert tax accountants for help with planning and investigations Tax Affinity Accountants are rated as experts in Tax and Accounting Industry and because of our experience and expertise with Tax we can help clients to both legally minimise their tax and make the best plans for the future. We never recommend breaking any rules but instead using our expertise know that there is more than enough scope with the framework to legally reduce taxes and still have the peace of mind. And because we stay abreast with the latest changes and developments we are are always at the forefront of advising clients when things change. And you know your in safe hand because Tax Affinity are experts in tax law with a good working relationship with HMRC. There to there to help and support clients if they are involved in a HMRC tax or VAT investigation or have a Worldwide Disclosure / Let Property Campaign letter etc to respond to. We are always able to successfully support and guide clients to the best possible outcome. Just ask one of our many happy clients who sing our praises. Below is a list of just some of the things we can help with. If what your looking for is not listed we most likely are still able to do it but just didnt want to make the list too long. Give us a call and have a chat with one of our tax experts or come into one of our high street branches - we will be happy to help. - Inheritance tax planning for landlords with estates between £1million - £250million - Capital gains tax planning - Transferring properties into a limited company - Incorporation - Offshore tax planning - HMRC Tax and VAT Investigations - Code of Practice 8 and 9 investigations - Alternate Dispute Resolution - Tax Tribunals - Forensic Accounting - Worldwide Disclosure Facility - Let Property Campaign - HMRC Check of Self Assessment / Tax - Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) - Code of Practice 8 / 9 / 11 / 14 - Section 144 Enquiry - Section 12A TMA 1970 Notice Investigations - Code of Practice 11 (Local Compliance Offices) - Code of Practice 14 Investigation (Company Tax Return Investigations) By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts Business, Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for both individuals and small & medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting both individuals and limited company owners / self employed people throughout the UK and the world, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success. 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.  Unfortunately HMRC can start an investigation into your tax affairs at anytime, we have seen them go back up to 10 years and heard of rare cases going back as far as 20 years (although its normally in the last few years and more than 6 years - because banks only hold statements for this long).
If your unlucky enough to receive a letter stating HMRC are checking your tax return, it can be a very tense and stressful time even if you have done nothing wrong. HMRC investigations can occur for a variety of reasons: Usually its a mistake that HMRC can see whilst looking through the information you have submitted to them in the past. The mistake can be of any type and scale of seriousness so it shouldn't be taken lightly. If you spot a mistake and tell HMRC about it, they will still have to open an investigation but it will be less severe. Sometimes, a business is selected for investigation at random, HMRC will pick a few businesses in an area, maybe that are tax-fraud hotspots, just to make sure there is no tax evasion going on. HMRC also has sophisticated software that will spot trends in your paperwork submitted and if certain figures flag up for investigation or are hugely different to the industry average, they will look into why this is. And sometimes a related business is being investigated and this leads HMRC to think about you and your business also. ie when HMRC formally request information from third-parties such as banks and other businesses to investigate them they notice your business and then spot check into you as well. The letter from HMRC will normally detail what direction the investigation will be taking. When you receive this letter, you should act fast because if you don't have all the required information ready when the investigation starts, you will be seen as unorganised and if you are uncooperative, they will be less lenient on you. Read our previous blogs on HMRC Investigations for more information. A Tax Accountant’s expertise and negotiation experience will help you greatly both financially and emotionally. We see families bear a huge amount of personal stress during investigations and it helps to shoulder some of that responsibility on a person who knows the system and can safeguard your interests. As always with a good tax accountants the fees that you may have to pay will be far outweighed by the amount of tax saved in direct negotiations with HMRC. An experienced accountant will know what the next move by HMRC will be. And this helps protect you if there is a request for anything unusual. Also this helps prevents you from submitting too much information or making the investigation drag on longer than it should. The key is to co-operate with both your Tax Accountant and HMRC so the investigation is over quickly as possible. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With offices in Surbiton and Worcester Park in the Royal borough of Kingston upon Thames they are considered to be experts in all types of Accounting and Tax issues. Helping and supporting businesses and individuals throughout the UK. 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.  Tax Affinity Accountants in Worcester Park Online Sellers to be targeted by HMRC for investigation.
At Tax Affinity Accountants we have always been at the forefront inside knowledge and key advice and support for all of our clients. And we know that every tax year HMRC picks a category of business to focus its investigations on. We have been successfully guiding and helping those effected by investigations for many years. For the 2014/15 it was Landlords and Property Developers, for 2013/14 it was Electricians and Tutors 2012/13 it was Builders and Decorators. This tax year 2015/16 we have credible information that it is individuals selling items and services on Autotrader, Gumtree, Ebay, Amazon, E-Auctions, Craigslist, AirBnb and other online platforms that will be investigation for undeclared incomes. HMRC says it wants to target those that have failed to register for and pay the correct amount of tax. It thinks that this could amount to as much as £5.9 billion of missed tax. And so it is currently starting a consultation on extending their powers even further than before to be to collect data on companies and individuals from other sources. So far, Ebay has been sympathetic to the request from HMRC and says that it has tried to identify to its sellers their obligations to the tax authorities of the relevant country in which they trade. And have said that they would share information with the tax authorities where there is evidence of wrongdoing. And so it's highly likely other online platforms will be following suit. HMRC has said it is better that an online seller should come forward and volunteer to put their affairs in order as it will only be a matter of time before they will catch up them. They went on to say that they will not be targeting people selling personal property, but rather those that sell large quantities of similar or categorised items. And they will get the source information directly from the web and the online platform providers. From our experience investigations can take at least 6 months with some lasting up to 2 years and always cause a lot of stress upon individuals and their families. Especially as the penalties and fines can be up to a further 100% on top the tax due. If you are concerned about how this may affect your business we recommend you contact your local Tax Affinity Office and ask for more detailed help. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to client’s right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts. 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.  Expert help can go a long way. Keeping records for HMRC inspections for at least 5 years If you are self employed or have some part of your income which is self employment then you are required to send or submit a tax return to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for any relevant tax years applicable. This also means that you will have to keep all the records that aided you in completing the tax return accurately and correctly. Because HMRC can decide to double check your accounts and tax return at any time, without reason, and ask you to present all your records relevant to that year at one of their offices. And if the investigation officer feels that you have not kept sufficiently detailed records, then he or she may apply a penalty and further taxes based on their estimate for the period. As you can imagine this can be very stressful and difficult time for anybody. However, you won’t have to pay a penalty or extra tax if you can clearly demonstrate that you took reasonable care to get your information and therefore tax return right and any errors if present were unintentional. This can be demonstrated by being as helpful and available as possible to the HMRC staff. Below are some of the ways in which you can show you have tried your best to have the correct information and have taken reasonable care for the tax return to be correct:
Keep five to ten years worth of records at least. HMRC guidance states that if you are self employed or in a partnership, then you are required to keep all your records for at least five years from the 31st January following a tax year (a tax year run from 6th April to 5th April each year). And corporation tax (company tax) records will normally have to be kept for at least six years from the end of the companies annul accounting period (as stated on your Companies House records). But if the submission is overdue or is required to be double checked by HMRC then the records need to be kept for longer and there is no specific guideline as to how many years this can go back. And to complicate things further, the exact time you need to keep your records will fluctuate depending on your situation and the opinions of HMRC’s investigating staff’s opinions. So it is highly recommended to keep at least 10 years worth of records if not all of them from the start. Don’t forget the filing. If you do not have a safe and accurate record keeping system in place, it can very rapidly descend into in whole lot of stress and trouble with HMRC. Relying on excel spreadsheets or pen and paper records to do your accounts are not always reliable either. As paper can get damaged or lost, ink can fade, spreadsheets can unintentionally be altered, formulas can become corrupted and before you know it your books could be in a right old mess. And when you come back to look at them 4 years down the line, it’s highly likely you won’t remember what the figures relate to or what the formula was. Recent research carried out by as software provider of 500 small business owners found that a huge 75% rely on pen and paper or spreadsheets to track their finances. And of that amount, 31% have made errors with HMRC returns which for 14% resulted in a fine - worrying statistics indeed. How can you avoid problems? So what can you do now to help yourself? - Well below are some of the records you will need to keep:
Clients often ask how long they should keep their records for expecting us to say for at least a year or two. And are surprised when we say at least 5 years and up to 10 years because we have seen firsthand HMRC amend tax liabilities due for up to 9 years in the past. And, that if the client has not kept the evidence to argue against the charges they have little chance in getting HMRC to change their mind. So it’s not worth the risk. An experienced and qualified firm of accountants, such as Tax Affinity Accountants, will also securely hold their own records for your accounts also and this can lead to a safety net in case of any investigations or tax amendments further down the line as the precise type of records required will depend on the type of business that you run and the type of tax that you need to pay. HMRC won’t accept excuses for why you have not kept the precise records but when it’s you and your accountant against the tax man – two against one will always have a better outcome. By Tahir Malik and Andrew at Tax Affinity Accountants.  Q. Why is he dressed like a police officer? A. Shhhh act normal... HMRC can open an investigation into your tax affairs at anytime, and can request to go back up to 20 years (although it is normally no later than 6 years). When you receive a letter stating HMRC are pending an investigation, it can be a very tense and stressful time even if you have done nothing wrong. Investigations can occur for a variety of reasons. The most frequent is an obvious mistake that HMRC can see whilst looking through the information you have submitted to them. The mistake can be on any scale of seriousness so should not be taken lightly. If you spot a mistake and tell HMRC about it, they will still have to open an investigation still but it will be less severe and strict. Sometimes, a business selected for an investigation is totally random, HMRC will pick a few businesses in an area, maybe that are tax-fraud hotspots, just to make sure there is no tax evasion going on. HMRC are also the epitome of suspicious. If your sales figure has gone drastically up or down from one year to the next or are hugely different to the industry average, they will look into why this is. The letter from HMRC will normally have clues on it as to why you are being investigated. It will also detail what direction the investigation will be taking. When you receive this letter, the emphasis is to act fast as if you do not have all the required information ready and at hand when the investigation starts, you will be seen as unorganised. HMRC have the ability to request information from third-parties such as banks and other businesses. This is the extreme as normally they will look for co-operation, from the person being investigated, which will not only speed the whole process, but reduce any fines or penalties incurred. This can be just allowing them access to your files or it could be letting them interview you for a day. If you have made clear and obvious mistakes but do not allow HMRC access to your documents, the fine can be doubled, making it much worse for you. The effect of not co-operating on your business is as follows:
The general trend is that it is at this stage people will go and ask for professional help. The best people to see are tax accountants such as Tax Affinity Accountants who can help in various ways with the investigation. Some are below:
Even when the investigation has finished, there is no guarantee that you will not be investigated again. If you were randomly investigated one year and then the next year your profit figure increased dramatically, you could well actually be at risk of being investigated again. HMRC will not take to kindly either if you have already been found to be responsible in a previous investigation and then continue to make mistakes in subsequent years. This blog might seem all doom and gloom but regulations are in place for the amount of tax that should be paid by either businesses or individuals. HMRC just apply this regulation as it would be unfair for some people to get away with not paying enough tax. If you have done nothing wrong, or even make an innocent mistake, HMRC will not be aggressive or disruptive. If you co-operative with them, they will ensure the investigation is as pain free for you as possible. A Tax Accountant’s expertise and experience will help you greatly both financially and emotionally. As the fees that you may have to pay will be far outweighed by the amount of tax saved in direct negotiations with HMRC. They know what the situation is and what the next move by HMRC will probably be. This means that anything unusual going on by HMRC will be noticed and prevents you from submitting too much information or making the investigation drag on longer than it should. The key is to co-operate with both your Tax Accountant and HMRC so the investigation is over quickly and as By Owen Cain at Tax Affinity Accountants |
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