2016 | Taxfile

This Week Only – Beat the Tax Return Price Increase!

December 28, 2016/in 2016, 2017, HMRC, Self-assessment, Tax return, Tax returns/by Mark

Beat our 2017 price increase and get your tax affairs in order before the January rush by coming in to see Taxfile for your Self Assessment tax return before December is over.

It might be Christmas week for many but our staff are ready and waiting to help you get your figures correct and to fill out your tax return for you before the January rush. When complete, we’ll submit it to HMRC for you so you can relax for the start of the New Year, avoid any bottlenecks AND save money.

During January some of our prices will increase just a little, as forewarned in our previous post. This is simply to cover some of the overtime and extra hours that Taxfile staff will need to work during January, our busiest time of year, covering all the last minute tax returns. But don’t leave it until January — book an appointment with us during the remainder of December and you’ll save! Call 0208 761 8000 or book an appointment online here.

It’s Time to File Your Self-Assessment Tax Return!

November 22, 2016/in 2015, 2016, Accountancy, Accountants, CIS, Construction Industry Scheme, Deadline, HMRC, Self-assessment, Tax, Tax return, Tax returns, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Mark

If you haven’t already done so, you need to file your Self-Assessment Tax Return* very soon. However, don’t leave it until January or it’ll cost you more! Think more in terms of sorting it out right now — as time is of the essence! And don’t forget, you need to submit your tax return irrespective of whether you owe any tax.

Beat the January 1st price increase!

If you need professional help filling in and submitting your tax return, contact us here at Taxfile during November or December — ideally well before Christmas — and you’ll beat our price increase that kicks in on January 1st. Why the increase? Because we have to open for extended hours and pay overtime during January to cope with all the tax returns that have been left to the last minute. So the message is avoid bottlenecks, save money, and reduce stress by contacting us now.

We also do tax refunds (including CIS), bookkeeping & accountancy work

We can also help you with your CIS tax refund application if you’re a sub-contractor working in the construction industry — if you act fast you might even Read more

Big Changes Coming to the Tax System

November 21, 2016/in 2016, 2018, Accountants, Accounts, Bookkeeping, Buy to let, Cash basis, Digital tax accounts, HMRC, Income & Expenditure, Landlords, Limited company, London, Pay as you go, Records, Self-assessment, Self-employed, Sole traders, Tax advice, Tax returns, Taxfile/by Mark

Starting on 1 April 2018, a brand new tax system, one that will affect most business owners in the UK, will begin to roll out. Whether you’re a landlord, are working for yourself as a sole trader or have a limited company, the changes will affect you.

So what’s happening?

Instead of a once-a-year tax return, HMRC will require quarterly profit and loss information. So, that’s four times a year. For Taxfile clients, that means we’ll need to know all your income and expenses during every quarter so that we can make the necessary financial data available, on your behalf, to HMRC. As well as your bank statements, we’ll need to see receipts for the expenses, whether they’re provided physically or via a suitable electronic medium (there are plenty of apps and software packages for this purpose). Once we have everything for the quarter in question, we will be able to make sure that you’re claiming for all the allowable expenses that you are eligible for and aren’t claiming for things that you shouldn’t, so that your figures are absolutely correct.

If you don’t file in time there could be an HMRC penalty, so letting Taxfile handle your quarterly reporting will help to keep you on track seamlessly when the new changes come into force. We’ll be able to confirm our own pricing nearer the time but it’s likely to be circa just £75 per quarter, excluding VAT.

A ‘cash basis’ system

The new tax system will be known as a ‘Cash Basis’ system and will also allow tax to be paid to HMRC on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis. Essentially, it means that businesses need only calculate their profits based on receipts and payments, which is far more straight forward than the more complex system that currently exists. When integrated into the Government’s new ‘digital tax accounts’, the system will really help to simplify tax, make budgeting and cash-flow easier through near real-time reporting and eventually remove the need for the traditional tax return at the end of the year — that’ll eventually be the case for virtually everyone. As an added bonus it’ll also mean that business owners keep more on top of their bookkeeping and thereby avoid a last minute scramble to update records. Taxpayers will also be able to see a complete financial picture of their tax affairs in the one place — their digital account — and all their liabilities and entitlements will be clear to see and manage more effectively than ever.

Taxfile

Nearer the time the changes come into place, Taxfile will be there to help its customers adapt to the new system and between us we’ll make sure that it’s easy and hassle-free. We’ll be able to Read more

Taxfile’s multi-lingual, multi-talented staff, at a glance

November 18, 2016/in Accountancy, Accountants, Bookkeeping, Capital gains tax, CIS, Construction Industry Scheme, Corporation tax, Dulwich, HMRC, Income tax, Landlords, Lettings income, Limited company, Multilingual staff, NI, PAYE, Payroll, Payroll bureau, Rebate, Refund, RTI, Self-employed, South London, Tax, Tax accountant, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax agents, tax experts, Tax refunds, Tax returns, Taxfile, Tulse Hill, Value Added Tax, VAT/by Mark

[Updated]: It’s common knowledge that most of Taxfile’s South London staff are multi-lingual but can you guess which staff member speaks no less than four languages fluently (Russian, Pashto, Dari and English) and which staff member is into both metal music and Irish dancing? And who should you ask for if you need payroll services? And who specialises in bookkeeping … who in limited company accounts and so on? Our staff ‘mind map’ tells you a bit more about each member of the team, what their specialities are, key interests and, of course, their contact details in case you ever need their help. Take a look … Read more

Taxfile’s Autumn Newsletter 2016

October 13, 2016/in 2014, 2015, 2016, Accountancy, Accountants, Accounts, Advice, Auto Enrolment, CIS, Construction Industry Scheme, Contractor, Filing deadlines, FreeAgent, HMRC, Late return, London, penalties, penalty, Refund, Save money, Self-assessment, South London, Subcontractor, Tax accountant, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax agents, Tax refunds, Tax return, Tax returns, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Mark

Hot off the press is our brand new Autumn newsletter for 2016. If you haven’t yet seen it, take a look because it’s jam-packed full of useful information that’ll help you keep your tax affairs and accounts in order, save you money and keep you up to speed on tax matters. Here’s a quick flavour of what’s included (or click the thumbnail image to view or download the newsletter):

Act fast to save money on your 2015-16 tax return – see the newsletter’s first article.
Sub-contractors working in the construction industry are invited to claim their CIS tax refunds through Taxfile, so they have their refund in time for Christmas!
Help if you’re late with any previous years’ tax returns and tax payments — and how you already owe HMRC at least £1300 if you haven’t filed your 2014/15 tax return or paid tax for that year.
Try the UK’s Number 1 cloud-based accounts package FREE, for a month. No credit card required – cancel at any time – full details are included in the newsletter. [UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired].
Help if your tax affairs are in a mess — are you late filing returns or paying tax? Are you worried about HMRC penalties? Are you a foreign worker, working in the UK, and need to get your tax records up to date following the Brexit decision? We’re here to help!
Taxfile are Finalists in the ‘Independent Firm of the Year, Greater London’ category of the British Accountancy Awards 2016.
Free tax enquiry Fee Protection Insurance for Taxfile customers who file their tax returns by the statutory deadline through Taxfile.
How online banking may save you time and money.
Introduce a new client to Taxfile and save 10% on our fees!
Saturday opening at Taxfile (Tulse Hill office) throughout November and December.
Help with all your tax and accounting needs – check out our list of all the things we can help you with — now including auto enrolment!
And a ‘thank you’ to all Taxfile customers … Read more

Taxfile are Finalists in the British Accountancy Awards 2016

September 20, 2016/in 2016, Accountancy, Awards, Dulwich, London, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Mark

Taxfile are delighted to confirm that they’ve been nominated as Finalists in the sixth annual British Accountancy Awards taking place in November 2016. With a real chance of winning the Independent Firm of the Year, Greater London category, all the staff at Taxfile should take this as a pat on the back for their expertise and diligence looking after the tax affairs of clients in the Greater London region. “It’s a great honour!” said Guy Bridger, Taxfile’s Managing Director, who wanted to draw attention to the particularly hard work of Julie, Faiz, Ewelina and Ali on the Taxfile team. The awards ceremony takes place at The Brewery, London EC1, on 29 November.

Taxfile can add this to their already impressive list of previous accolades which include being a Finalist in the Award for Innovation and winner of the Best Small Business award. Our congratulations to all staff and best wishes to all accountancy companies taking part — it should be a night to remember!

Taxfile are accountants and tax advisors with London offices in both Tulse Hill and Dulwich in SE21. We can help with anything from simple bookkeeping, payroll, tax returns, tax refunds, VAT, National Insurance and Corporation Tax to full accounts work for limited companies, help with auto enrolment duties as well as sorting out complex tax problems. Read more

Professional, Affordable Help with Auto Enrolment

August 9, 2016/in Auto Enrolment, Payroll, pension scheme, Pensions, Workplace Pensions/by Mark

Good news – one less burden for Employers!

If you are an employer, you’ll no doubt know about the new Automatic Enrolment scheme that was recently imposed on UK businesses. For most employers, it’s yet another unwelcome administrative burden. However, it’s not all bad news; in fact, Taxfile has some excellent news to share with you …

As you probably know, compliance with the new Automatic Enrolment scheme is not optional. Virtually every UK employer has to choose and commit to a Workplace Pension Scheme, liaise with every employee, administer all the paperwork and comply with the various rules, regulations and deadlines. It’s a massive administrative burden. However, the good news is that Taxfile can handle it all for you! Our prices are incredibly affordable too. So — it’s a no-brainer!

Let Taxfile handle your Auto Enrolment for you

For a simple, affordable fee, Taxfile can help your company or organisation with:

Monitoring, compliance and administration of your Auto Enrolment duties. We’ll handle it all, on your behalf;
Registering your compliance with The Pensions Regulator at the correct intervals;
Integrating Auto Enrolment pension payments into your company payroll (if we handle payroll for you), so the right level of pension contributions, tax and NI is paid in relation to salaries;
If you and all your employees are eligible and want to opt out of Auto Enrolment, we’ll help you accomplish that too, within the rules.
If you’ve missed your ‘staging date’ and want to minimise any penalty and get back on track, we can also help with that.

With Taxfile handling it all for you, you can get on with

Received an HMRC Tax Refund Email? It’s probably a Phishing Scam!

May 12, 2016/in Advice, HM Revenue and Customs, HMRC, Phishing, Scams, Tax, Tax refunds/by Mark

Several Taxfile customers have recently told us that they’ve been receiving emails, supposedly from HMRC, inviting them to click links within the emails in order to apply for tax refunds. Regrettably, some have confirmed that they did indeed click the links then log onto fake HMRC websites, which looked every bit real to them, thereby giving away such sensitive information as their bank details and things like their mother’s maiden name. Handing over such sensitive information to fraudsters would be an expensive mistake. In view of this, we thought we’d give our readers more information on what to look out for, what to expect to receive from HMRC, and what not to.

Firstly: How to Recognise a Scam Email

Here is an example of a real phishing (scam) email recently received by one of our customers. We’ve highlighted various areas of the email to indicate some of the telltale signs that the email is, indeed, a phishing attempt by fraudsters rather than a genuine communication from HMRC.

Some of the many telltale signs that this email is fake include:

The sender is from a non-official domain (hmrcupdate.com is *not* a genuine HMRC website). Be careful, though, because some of the more advanced phishing emails do include genuine HMRC domains through what’s known as domain ‘spoofing’.
The recipient is not identified by name in either the ‘To’ field nor in the salutation (‘Dear Sir | Madam’ is a dead giveaway, as is the fact that the email was sent to ‘undisclosed recipients‘!). Genuine HMRC emails will always address you by the name you provided them.
Phishing emails often include silly errors that simply would not be published by the likes of HMRC. Under the logo, the date is wrong — it does not even mention a month!
The email states that you ‘are due some refunds‘ (plural). If HMRC did send emails announcing that a refund was available (and it doesn’t) then it would be singular, not plural! This is one of many hints that the sender has poor English (read on).
‘Press here‘ is another example of poor English. Of course, in the UK, we’d say ‘Click here’.
‘Povide us‘ is clearly spelt wrong — there should be an ‘r’ in ‘Provide’. Spelling errors are a common indication that the email is non-genuine and has instead come from overseas where English spelling and grammar are often not as accurate as they should be.
Further down it says ‘for refund‘ whereas it should say ‘for the refund’. Poor English/grammar again and another hint that this is a scam.
When you hover over the link included in the email (*without* clicking it), if your email application’s “status bar” is showing at the bottom of the screen, you can see where the link is pointing to. In this case it’s pointing to a goo.gl domain and this simply wouldn’t be the case if this was a genuine HMRC email.
Lastly, the email states that you have only 5 days to action the request. That is yet another telltale sign that this is a phishing scam. Fraudsters try to panic you into acting whereas HMRC would not make such a statement in a genuine email.

So you can see, when you look very carefully, that this is clearly a scam email. However, we should warn readers that other phishing emails are not so obvious. In fact, we’ve seen some real improvements in scam emails in recent months. One recent email was so genuine-looking that we’re not even 100% sure ourselves whether it’s a scam or not.

So what do you do if you are still not sure if an email is genuine?

If, after close scrutiny, you are still not sure whether the email is genuine, there are several things you can do … Read more

A Great Choice of Cloud-based Accounts Software Packages

April 8, 2016/in Accountancy, Accounts, Bookkeeping, Cash flow, expenditure, expenses, FreeAgent, Limited company, Sage, Software packages, South London, Special Offers, Tax, Tax calculation, Taxfile, Xero/by Mark

Sign Up & Your Favourite Charity Gets £25 Too!

[UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired]. If you are a limited company client that signs up to a new cloud accounting software subscription from Taxfile, we’ll donate £25 to your favourite charity. So, as well as saving yourself time and making your life easier, you’ll get a warm glow from making the world that little bit better! The accounting software packages that we currently offer and recommend are FreeAgent, Xero and Sage One, which are all leading accounts packages.

With any of the 3 cloud-based packages you’ll be able to:

Create and send invoices from within the software;
Automatically chase payments;
View real time cash-flow;
Track time and expenses;
Monitor Profit and loss;
Forecast your tax liability;
Connect and automatically import your bank statement data straight into the software;
And much more!

Best of all, though, will be the time-saving benefits that you’ll get from professional accounting packages like these. With the software working hard for you in the background, you’ll have more time to get on with something else.

Contact Ryan, our resident accounts package specialist, for advice on which package will best suit you and your specific circumstances. He’ll be able to walk you through the details of the many features and benefits of each package as well as any further information you require. Ryan can be contacted on the usual Taxfile number: 0208 761 8000 or, if preferred, fill in an enquiry form here and Ryan will call you back at a time that suits you.

AMAZING OFFER! Save Time, Money & Space with a FREE Sage Bookkeeping & Accounts Package!*

January 14, 2016/in Accountancy, Accountants, Auto Enrolment, Bookkeeping, Cash flow, expenses, Filing deadlines, Income & Expenditure, Income tax, London, National Insurance, NI, NIC's, Online returns, PAYE, Payroll, Real Time Information, RTI, Sage, Save money, Self-assessment, Software packages, South London, Special Offers, Tax, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax calculation, Tax returns, Taxfile, VAT/by Mark

[UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired]. Taxfile’s customers can benefit from an incredible offer on a range of Sage accounting packages at the moment. We’re offering a FREE or, in effect, heavily subsidised* Sage accounting package to all active Taxfile customers, whether existing or new. There are various different packages available so we’re sure we’ll have one which will suit every customer perfectly. The list of benefits is almost endless — here are just a few:

Firstly we’ll GIVE* Taxfile customers the package — you don’t have to pay Sage at all;
Say hello to quick and easy bookkeeping and record-keeping;
Quick and easy cash flow management tools;
Cloud-based record keeping means you can access accounts records from anywhere with an internet connection;
Automatic bank statement integration makes bank reconciliation a breeze, helping when receipts go missing and even recognising – and accounting for – regular transactions;
A mobile app module allows you to simply snap a photo of your receipt and it uploads to your Sage account (say goodbye to physical receipt storage!);
Less paperwork!
Automatic tax computations performed by the software;
Report and analysis options;
VAT handling;
Automatic VAT return options (or let us handle it for you as you prefer);
Shows you the taxes and National Insurance due so you can easily pay them on time;
Fast and easier tax returns;
Help from Taxfile at any point and from Sage’s own helpful videos;
Helps you stay in line with UK laws, taxes and regulations;
No experience needed;
Perfect for the self-employed, start-ups and small businesses;
Taxfile will even be happy to set you up;
Integrated invoicing and quotation options available (even from your mobile phone!);
A quick and easy payroll bolt-on is also available for limited companies, with payslips, RTI, Auto Enrolment integration etc.;
Auto enrolment communications included if you have a company pension scheme;
Option to automatically integrate online e-commerce records into your Sage account;
Fast and easier company accounts preparation;
… and much more!

But there is more major benefit – collaboration with us, your accountant!

The Sage packages we supply are not only free, or in effect heavily subsidised depending on the package involved, but also allow us, your accountant and tax adviser, to collaborate with you within your Sage package with your permission. So where you cannot do something yourself, we can log in using our own integrated Sage administration system to get involved on your behalf, for example to set things up for you, run reports, activate VAT returns, tax returns, end of year accounts, payroll and so on. It’s amazing really! So you do as much or as little as you want to … and we cover everything else!

You save money!

Using the easy but powerful Sage bookkeeping and accounting packages supplied by Taxfile
means that you’ll save money. It’s as simple as that. Customers using such packages makes our job easier, reducing our chargeable hours working on your accounts, so quite simply saves you money!

You also save time!

Our Sage packages will save you SO much time you’ll never look back! Once you’ve tried our Sage packages for a while you’ll Read more

This Week Only – Beat the Tax Return Price Increase!