Tax Affinity Accountants is pleased to announce that we have been awarded the Best Business of 2017, and have been recognised as one of the Top Service providers in our field of expertise by an Independent reviewing panel. A proud member of the Federation of Business this award was external to the FSB and a surprise award.
Independently recognised Our Worcester Park branch was commended for providing a consistently high quality service in our area of business (Tax and Accounting). The independent review team reviewed Tax Affinity Accountants using a 50-Point Inspection which included everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, ratings, satisfaction, trust and the cost to the general public. In short overall excellence. Unexpected review As you can image this has been a very pleasant surprise as we did not even know we were being independently reviewed and did nothing different from what we normally do. We were simply providing the best service we can as normal for every member of the public who approaches us for advice and support. Appreciation We would like to thank all of our customers for allowing us to be part of their lives and letting us help and support them and their businesses. We enjoy helping every self employed person and feel immense sense of pride and happiness when we see our clients businesses expand and grow. In some cases we have seen you guys start from absolutely nothing to a multi million pound turnover within a couple of years. Understanding all the hard work, and long hours it takes for each self employed owner to make their business a success. We have always been there to help and support you and congratulate you on your hard fought success. This award is also recognition for all the staff at Tax Affinity Accountants for going the extra mile and ensuring clients are 110% satisfied. Their long hours worked and late finishes to ensure each clients work is done on time and as tax efficiently as possible means this a reward for their hard work. And finally, we would like to thank the reviewers for their glowing recommendation and wish them the very best for the future as well. By Andrew Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park, Kingston upon Thames, Cheam, and Surbiton they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting companies, contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients with their payroll and pension. And help grow their business by providing tailored advice. 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.
0 Comments
There is a lot of confusion with work place pensions and we are regularly being asked by employers to explain the process and answers questions they have. So to help, we have compiled a short list of questions and their brief answers below:
What is Work Place Pensions? A work place pension is a new compulsory government scheme to lighten the burden upon the state pension. It is part of the process of extending the retirement age and pushing away some financial responsibility onto employers away from the state. It is another way that employees contribute to a pension scheme separate from just the normal national insurance contributions to a state pension. The work place pension is arranged by an employer and they and you have to both contribute into if you decide to opt in. What is auto enrolment? Automatic enrolment to gives it full name, is the the compulsory way the Government has forced employers to set up a company pension scheme for employees. As the name suggest it makes it compulsory for an employer to automatically enrol all their eligible workers on their PAYE into a company pension scheme. What is the staging date? This is the date that the automatic enrolment duties begin. the staging date for an employer is worked out by the number of employees on their payroll (PAYE) based on information HMRC holds. The staging date has been set in law and is the date an employer needs to make sure their automatic enrolment duties have started. Which employees have to be on a work place pension? Only those employees that are over 22 years old and earn more that £10,000 per tax year, need to be enrolled on the work place pension. Anyone earning less than £10,000 a year on your PAYE does not have to be on the work place pension. How does is it work? Its like a normal company pension scheme, only difference is that the Government adds a little bit to it as well. An employer has to register and then choose a pension provider and then deduct a minimum of 2% (on a scale) from the employees wages each time a payslips is produced. The employer then adds an equivalent percentage (up to a maximum threshold) and then pays both the employees and employers pension payments to the pension company each pay date. The Government then tops this up with a lesser percentage. The total sits in a pension account for the employee until they reach retirement age and can then receive the pension payments at the required retirement age. Can employers and employees opt out? All employers have to register and be compliant with their legal obligations. But both directors and employees can 'opt out' of the work place pension scheme if they wish. If an employee wants to opt out then they need to fill in and sign an 'opt out' form and hand this to their employer. What are the costs? For an employee: Minimum 0.8% of an employees ‘qualifying earnings’, rising over time to 4% by April 2019 For an employer: Minimum 1% of your employees ‘qualifying earnings’, rising over time to 3% by April 2019 What is paid by the Government: 0.2% of your employees ‘qualifying earnings’, rising over time to 1% by April 2019 Plus the employer may have to pay a management charge to the pension company for managing the company pension scheme (varies with each company). And / or for the employees an annual pension management charge of 0.3% of their retirement pot, and a 1.8% charge from each payment that is made into an employees retirement pot. What is the earlier age an employee can start to get their pension paid to them? This differs from one pension company to the next and depends on the pension company used by the employer, but most pensions can start payout from aged 55 which is a lot lower than the state pension age and plans by the Government to raise the pension age further in the future. At Tax Affinity Accountants we are already helping hundreds of employers with their Work Place Pensions. Guiding them so they can make the most financially efficient strategy and plan for their company. If you would like help with this then get in touch and we would be happy to help. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park, Kingston upon Thames, Cheam, and Surbiton they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting companies, contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients with their payroll and pension. And help grow their business by providing tailored advice. 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. At Tax Affinity Accountants, we often get asked what are the differences and benefits of working through a limited company compared to an umbrella company. So we have decided to explain this in a quick easy way.
An umbrella company is like an agency with whom you are employed and therefore they are your employer and not the place where you work. They will issue you with payslips and P60, P11d and a P45 at the end of your employment. They should also pay you for any sick or maternity pay as may be required. Umbrella companies will charge you for using their services and will deduct their fees from your pay. They will also ask to be refunded their employer NIC contributions paid to HMRC on your behalf again deducting this from your pay. The income tax tends to be higher than being straight forward employed on PAYE. You do not need to worry about paperwork and record keeping as the umbrella company does all this like an employer would. A limited company is a separate legal entity to you. That you may well own as a shareholder and run as a director. A limited company can be your employer and pay you wages via PAYE like a normal employer but be contracting out your services to the place you work. And if you are the shareholder it can pay you dividends (share of the profits) periodically or on a regular basis. A limited company pays corporation tax not income tax and the tax rate is much lower than normal PAYE or via an umbrella company. There is a certain amount of paperwork and record keeping which is required and normally you will require the services of a good accountant. It is also very difficult to try to pay yourself sick or maternity pay, which is why most people do not claim these. But the plus side is as your keeping more income then this should more than make up for any loss of benefit or time spent keeping records. Tax wise it is usually much better option to be working though a limited company compared to an umbrella company as a good accountant, like Tax Affinity Accountants, should help you save much more in tax than fees they ever charge. Helping to ensure more of your hard earned income stays in your hands. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. 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. |
Various AuthorsOur experienced accountants and tax advisers provide valuable insights into practical every day questions and issues. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
Ask your own question: If you would like to have a tax related question answered here, please send your question to info@taxaffinity.co.uk. |