accounts

[brian c]

Like most of you guys,im having to send my self assessment to HMRC,got the accountant to do it and what a lovely surprise i got,lovely early christmas pressie.So dont be scared of the tax guys as sometimes it pays you to get an accountant to do the work for you.........im in the money.

(This will cover my little quiet spell im having,so not all doom and gloom)

[365drills]

Sometimes they do earn their money! I paid one 500 quid as a second opinion to my wife who is a qualified ACCA accountant and Finance Director. You can imagine her disgust when I second guessed my own wife and paid this guy.

The bottom line is he DID pick up a few minor errors which he corrected. Plus he also set out the roadmap of how to fill in the tax form.

I thought the 500 was well worth the peace of mind an outsider can bring. But of course now the wife is in full control.

She warns me that her time is rated at 60GBP per hour... So I have to take her out for a lot of meals as compo.

Yes accountants can help you save money and they also keep you on the right path and away from the dark side!

I also know GrumpyGrouter is a member of the club so he can give general accounts advice if you prod him!

Well done on your windfall.

[brian c]

Still not got anything yet Richard but waiting with baited breath...lol

[cornish_crofter]

I've had rebates within DAYS of my form going in

[brian c]

I've had rebates within DAYS of my form going in

Busy time for them at the moment,but will get in touch with my accountant shortly.

[GazTech]

I battled with them after finishing self-empl over £180 the claimed I owed. They eventually gave in after 2yrs trying to get it, then upset at that they decided to investigate me (purely an exercise for a junior officer).... which cost £500 in accountancy fees squeeky clean so they dropped the case. Then 2 months ago out of the blue they say they owed me £160....mind boggling, I hassled them for a cheque and got it...they dont know if they are on foot or horseback IMO

[cornish_crofter]

One of the reasons I use an accountant is that I can insure myself against the costs of investigations.

Brian - I hope work picks up for you mate

[doug boardley]

spent last two years doing cis work, rebate should pay them back a bit of what they think i owe them, well not ALL cis work, every now and then you need a new telly..... anonymous lol!! (oh b****r forgot my names to the left of this post!)

[BDS]

My wife`s uncle has his own firm so he does mine for half price and i`ve just been informed i`ve got to go and see him to have a run down of the year or what ever it is

[GazTech]

My wife`s uncle has his own firm so he does mine for half price and i`ve just been informed i`ve got to go and see him to have a run down of the year or what ever it is

Sounds expensive...did he say errr..& fetch yer cheque book

[BDS]

no gaz,its just to see how things are going and to see if he can help in anyway,i dont even have to go in to town to the office he`s letting me go to his house which is only a 5 min walk sounds good to me

[brian c]

good luck doug m8..lol

[cornish_crofter]

spent last two years doing cis work, rebate should pay them back a bit of what they think i owe them, well not ALL cis work, every now and then you need a new telly..... anonymous lol!! (oh b****r forgot my names to the left of this post!)

Don't forget that we all need to replace our IT equipment on a regular basis, and these should be written off against the business. A few years ago I was told that all IT minus mobiles were allowed to be written off 100% against the business in the first year. This may have changed now.....

...Can you confirm this Grumpy?

[brian c]

cc.....i dont know if its 100% but there is a percentage that can be written off against the business.

its also the same for vans or cars for the business.

[cornish_crofter]

cc.....i dont know if its 100% but there is a percentage that can be written off against the business.

its also the same for vans or cars for the business.

That's right. AFAIK for vans and cars etc it was 40% in the first year you own the asset, then 25% thereafter.

In 2004 we were told that it was 100% for all IT equipment, phones etc excluding mobiles. We were told that Mobile phones usage was charged 100% against the business. I suspected that this was because contract phones are charged on a monthly basis and the phone itself is usually free.

This may have changd by now, plus my accountant doesn't like charging 100% of the mobile phone charges to the business if there could be a personal use element. She much prefers to charge a small % to personal use - she says that HMRC are much less likely to query what percentage is personal use, as opposed to challange a submission that 100% is business use. I can see where she's coming from.

[Bolter]

That's right. AFAIK for vans and cars etc it was 40% in the first year you own the asset, then 25% thereafter.

In 2004 we were told that it was 100% for all IT equipment, phones etc excluding mobiles. We were told that Mobile phones usage was charged 100% against the business. I suspected that this was because contract phones are charged on a monthly basis and the phone itself is usually free.

This may have changd by now, plus my accountant doesn't like charging 100% of the mobile phone charges to the business if there could be a personal use element. She much prefers to charge a small % to personal use - she says that HMRC are much less likely to query what percentage is personal use, as opposed to challange a submission that 100% is business use. I can see where she's coming from.

Yep, exactly why I chose the option to buy a brand new van in April. The rebates I am getting (VAT and TAX) Im putting into a savings account, and when I get the option to pay off the van early, I may just have the money to do it

My accountant is awesome. Make sure you add something for stationary, and of course laundry bills for all that dirty workwear!

[grumpygrouter]

Don't forget that we all need to replace our IT equipment on a regular basis, and these should be written off against the business. A few years ago I was told that all IT minus mobiles were allowed to be written off 100% against the business in the first year. This may have changed now.....

...Can you confirm this Grumpy?

The 100% wda for IT stuff is no longer available. It was removed a year or 2 a go. FYA is still there but it seems to change every year at the moment!!

[cornish_crofter]

The 100% wda for IT stuff is no longer available. It was removed a year or 2 a go. FYA is still there but it seems to change every year at the moment!!

Thanks for that. I'm not surprised they ended that little perk. Lets face it - people aren't renewing their IT equipment every year are they

What do you mean by FYA?

[grumpygrouter]

FYA - First Year Allowance.

[whitebeam]

My accountant told me recently if I bought a new van now I would get 100% tax relief rather than 50% and 25% a year after that

[brian c]

My accountant told me recently if I bought a new van now I would get 100% tax relief rather than 50% and 25% a year after that

i beleive thats true m8.

[grumpygrouter]

I have just done a bit of research on this guys, and I don't think it is quite true. From April 2008 First Year Allowances have been abolished as such. The whole Capital allowance regime has been changed (again) and now encompasses something called "Annual Investment Allowance". Part of this AIA gives a first year deduction of 100% on certain types of plant and equipment and this in normally associated environmentally friendly stuff such as low CO2 cars and the like. The info I have seen does not mention vans. Maybe if your van is classed as low emission (less than 110gm CO2/km), then it may qualify.

I will research this some more and report back.

[grumpygrouter]

I have attached a link to an HMRC document regarding Annual Investment Allowance. Not highly detailed but gives an idea of what is going on.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2008/bn12.pdf

[MrSpoon]

ah im totally confused now when do i have to send in my tax return online? doing it without an accountant this year as i have only done a handful of jobs tho a frfiernd of mine who is an accountant will be giving it the once over, im just confused about when to send it in

[grumpygrouter]

ah im totally confused now when do i have to send in my tax return online? doing it without an accountant this year as i have only done a handful of jobs tho a frfiernd of mine who is an accountant will be giving it the once over, im just confused about when to send it in

If filing online, it must be done by midnight on Jan 31st along with any payment that may be due.

[grumpygrouter]

That's right. AFAIK for vans and cars etc it was 40% in the first year you own the asset, then 25% thereafter.

In 2004 we were told that it was 100% for all IT equipment, phones etc excluding mobiles. We were told that Mobile phones usage was charged 100% against the business. I suspected that this was because contract phones are charged on a monthly basis and the phone itself is usually free.

This may have changd by now, plus my accountant doesn't like charging 100% of the mobile phone charges to the business if there could be a personal use element. She much prefers to charge a small % to personal use - she says that HMRC are much less likely to query what percentage is personal use, as opposed to challange a submission that 100% is business use. I can see where she's coming from.

It has never been 40% for cars, only 25%. Vans are now classed as "plant" so they attracted FYA. Cars also had a maximum amount that could have been claimed of £3000 in any one year.

[charlie1]

I just got a call from my accountant and they told me I would be getting a payment of £800. I'm not surprised though when i think of the amount i've spent on tools and a van.

[MrSpoon]

If filing online, it must be done by midnight on Jan 31st along with any payment that may be due.

cheers grumps

[doug boardley]

ah im totally confused now when do i have to send in my tax return online? doing it without an accountant this year as i have only done a handful of jobs tho a frfiernd of mine who is an accountant will be giving it the once over, im just confused about when to send it in

end of january online, end of october(tomorrow) for a paper return