Dear Taxfile Client,

We're aware that many people are struggling right now. So, I wanted to personally touch base with you to confirm that, although the official deadline for submission of 2020/21 self-assessment tax returns and tax payments is Monday (31 January), there is now some extra time this year. This is great news for you if you are concerned about missing the deadlines or having to pay an HMRC penalty for being late. It should

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Taxfile has over 100 years of combined tax and accounting experience. It's incredible to think that the key personnel have administered over 30,000 tax submissions in the past 20 years! Beginning way back in 1994 (and continuing as Guy Bridger Limited from 1997), we originally started business offering only CIS sub-contractor returns but quickly developed the service to help the self-employed, local businesses and higher rate taxpayers with their tax computations. Along the way we added tax and accounting services for taxi drivers, cab drivers, landlords and more. We also offer Capital Gains tax expertise and tax investigation help and, more recently, professional help with disclosures, written tax advice and tax planning for things like inheritance.

We have exceptional accounting experience in all key tax and accounting areas including:

• CIS computations, CIS returns and refunds for sub-contractors and limited companies in the construction industry,
• Tax, tax returns and accountancy for the self-employed, small businesses, partnerships etc.,
• Tax help for taxi drivers and cab drivers,
• Tax help for landlords,
• Tax help for limited companies,
• Tax help for directors,
• Payroll services,
• Bookkeeping,
• VAT including VAT registrations, VAT returns and VAT accounting,
• Corporation tax,
• Capital Gains Tax (CGT),
• Year end accounts for limited companies, SME's, partnerships,
• Non-domicile taxes/foreign taxes,
• PAYE and National Insurance Contributions (NIC),
• Company registrations,
• Auto Enrolment for Workplace Pensions
• and just about any other tax and accounting-related assistance you can think of.

Taxfile helps individuals as well as businesses. Our customers are very varied, turning over anything from £10,000 to over £1 million a year. A few are high wealth individuals who no longer need to work but still need to account for their taxes etc. Some customers have retired, others operate small businesses and some don't even live in the UK but may have assets here. So, whatever your income, assets or situation, the message is that if you need ANY tax-related help, you've found the right place in Taxfile.

Taxfile also has the back-up and expertise of professional bodies on tap (so nothing is too complicated for us) and also has excellent relations with the tax authorities — we're very well trusted by HMRC. Guy even helps in the local employment zone, which aims to improve business in the Tulse Hill and West Norwood area. So, Taxfile is very much part of the local community, particularly in South London (but expanding to other areas too — keep an eye on this blog for forthcoming information about that in the very near future).

Whatever help you need with tax and accountancy-related matters, call Taxfile on 0208 761 8000 and we'll be delighted to help you. Alternatively,

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You can now get tax planning and tax advice from Taxfile. We have highly experienced senior accounting staff who can give you the right tax advice when you need it most — for example, when your circumstances are changing, if you've had trouble keeping on top of your tax commitments and need to bring things up to date, or perhaps a friend or relative simply needs a bit of reassurance with regard to their tax situation. Perhaps you have assets or income abroad as well as income in the UK and want to make sense of your tax position. Or, perhaps you have recently made a tidy profit trading crypto coins like Bitcoin and want to know where you are from the standpoint of Capital Gains or Income Tax. Maybe you need to disclose income from property rental that you have previously not told HMRC about (more about that in a later post). Those are all examples of typical situations where our new Professional Tax Advice and Tax Planning services can help you to see the wood from the trees.

A Free Telephone Consultation

In the first instance, we are inviting clients to speak for just 15 minutes with one of our resident tax planning experts. This will be in the form of a free, introductory telephone call, perhaps in February or March if it suits you. We can then see what's needed and take it from there. We can, of course, discuss any costs with you before you commit to anything further, and there is no obligation.

Whether it's about labour taxes, investment taxes, business taxes, disclosures to HMRC or even professional help to support you during an HMRC tax investigation, we can make sense of all the options for you and — in a fair and ethical way — help to make sure you are paying no more tax than you should do. With decades of experience in accountancy and tax planning, we know exactly what's what when it comes to tax, so can definitely help you. Call 0208 761 8000 to arrange your free 15 minute telephone appointment with a tax expert, at a mutually convenient time. Alternatively,

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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 ...
  

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  ]]> https://www.taxfile.co.uk/2016/05/received-an-hmrc-tax-refund-email/ Thu, 12 May 2016 10:37:15 +0000 http://www.taxfile.co.uk/?p=2008 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. Suffice it to say that 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 tell-tale signs that the email is, indeed, a phishing attempt by fraudsters rather than a genuine communication from HMRC.

  

  Some of the many tell-tale 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 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, 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 tell-tale 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 ...

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