How Corporation Tax is calculated has changed

At Taxfile we can compile and file your company’s tax return as well as calculating what is owed in Corporation Tax.

As of 01/04/2023, the main rate of Corporation Tax (CT) will rise from 19% to 25%, although the rate will remain at 19% for small businesses with profits less than £50,000.00.  However, if the profit is anywhere between £50,000.00 to £250,000.00 then the calculation is slightly more complicated as there is a marginal relief that can be applied.  Anything above £250,000.00 is taxed at the new rate of 25%.

The marginal relief means that you would not pay an outright 25% on a profit between £50k-£250k.  So for example, your company posts a profit of £80,000.00.

At 25% the tax would be £20k.

To calculate the marginal relief you would subtract your profit from the maximum where the relief is allowed (£250k) leaving you £170k and apply the marginal rate multiplier (3/200 or 0.015) to this, which is £2,550.00 in relief.

So the £20k would be reduced by £2,550, meaning that the CT liability would be £17,450 on the £80k profit.

When we file your tax return we calculate:

  • profit or loss for Corporation Tax (this is different from the profit or loss shown in your annual accounts)
  • Corporation Tax liability

Taxable profits for Corporation Tax include the money your company or association makes from:

  • doing business (‘trading profits’)
  • investments
  • selling assets for more than they cost (‘chargeable gains’)

Our SMB Private Limited Company accountancy services will take a lot of the strain away from being a company director, and allow you to focus on why you formed a limited company in the first place, to make a successful and expanding business.

We can help you with all the necessary bookkeeping, computations and filings, as well as advising on other business taxes that may be required such as VAT, and also look after your payroll and expense claims when filing your P11D’s.

Our personable and knowledgeable accountants are real people that you can talk to and meet in person, available to answer your questions and offer advice.

We are a friendly, relaxed accountancy firm offering services to businesses spanning the South London area, from Croydon through to Wandsworth.  We are your local accountant for small to medium businesses.  Call us for advice on 020 8761 8000 for a free 20-min no obligation chat.  We will be happy to answer any of your questions regarding limited companies.

Forming a Limited Company?

Having been the accountants of choice for individuals and businesses in the South London area, we have recently noticed a surge of individuals moving away from the sole trader status and enquiring about forming a limited company.

The reasons for changing status have varied; someone mentioned they should be, their customers needing them to be, being worried about having a personal liability against the business, to hoping to be more tax efficient.

What do we mean by a limited company?

A limited company is an organisation that is set up to run your business. A business becomes ‘limited’ once the company name and its owner(s) have been registered with Companies House and when limited status is granted, it becomes a distinct entity from its owners.

A limited company structure creates a distinct border between the business owner and the business itself, and under the eye of law, the business becomes a separate legal entity in its own right, becoming responsible for its own actions and finances.  This in turn limits the liability of the owner from any risk the business may need to take.    So if you are a small business expanding & possibly needing employees & assets, then a limited company is a good idea.

At Taxfile we are helping a lot more clients make this transition from a sole trader to limited status.

We can help you set up a private limited company, guide your through the process of what happens and what you need to do.  We offer an all-encompassing service from the setting up to filing the corporation tax returns.

We are offering a special price of £375+VAT for the following;

  • company formation (including the option to have the company phrased as a special purpose vehicle for a property rental company- SPV)
  • we will register a single director with HMRC for self-assessment
  • we set up the payroll scheme
  • we arrange your chart of accounts on online software and set up the bank feed so transactions are automatically recorded

A limited company will:

  • need to keep company records
  • report any changes to Companies House & HMRC
  • need to file an annual company tax return along with the company’s accounts, giving an undistorted view of its finances.

As a director of a private limited company you will:

  • make decisions that benefit the company rather than yourself
  • abide by the rules and regulations outlined by the company articles of association, which are written rules about running the company agreed by the shareholders or guarantors, directors and the company secretary
  • notify any shareholders if you might benefit personally from a company transaction
  • always act with the intention of making the company successful.
  • In forming a limited company you are limiting your personal liability but in doing so you cannot abuse your power with the limited liability to take selfish and unnecessary risks.

At Taxfile we can advise you on setting up a private limited company and take care of all these tasks for your private limited company — and avoid any complications down the line.

Starting a limited company is a relatively straightforward administrative task that starts out with choosing an available company name from Companies House to filling and filing a series of forms. At Taxfile we can ensure that all your forms are compiled correctly, providing ongoing support.

To set up your private limited company you will need at least one director and one shareholder.  As the business owner(s) you would then take a salary/wage from the business.  We can advise you how to best set up your salary and dividends to pay less tax.

Once you have a limited company set up you will need to open a new bank account in the name of your new company.  Our advice to clients, is to try and keep all the business income and expenses restricted within this one bank account and to avoid any personal transactions overlapping into this account.

It is also important to remember to transfer all business-related expenses into the company’s name and move any payment plans over to the new bank account.

If you would like help and advice about forming a private limited company please call us on 020 8761 8000.

Taxfile Covers Clients for HMRC Enquiries

Taxfile Covers Clients for HMRC Enquiries

Taxfile Covers Clients Against HMRC Enquiries

Did you know that Taxfile’s clients are protected from HMRC enquiries, for example for tax returns and similar submissions we make to HMRC? Through a simple, low-cost fee, Taxfile promises to liaise with HMRC on clients’ behalves should HMRC ever want further clarification of figures submitted. This includes HMRC queries following a tax return, VAT return, corporation tax return or payroll submission made by us. Usually, protecting clients from this type of HMRC investigation could mount up in terms of cost, as it can sometimes take hours to deal with, even for tax experts like us. However, with Taxfile’s low cost cover, it’s all covered automatically (within reason, of course*).

Through a low-cost fee, Taxfile promises to liaise with HMRC on clients' behalves should HMRC ever want clarification of figures submitted.The enquiry cover costs only …

  • £5 for a self assessment income tax return;
  • £10 for a VAT return;
  • £25 for a corporation tax return;
  • £4 for a payroll submission.

(VAT extra). Most accountants would charge you a considerable sum for this level of protection against HMRC enquiries. However, at Taxfile, we spread the cost through the whole business and, as a result, the cost to clients is a fraction of what it could otherwise be. We hope you agree that it’s a very small price to pay for such peace of mind, should the worst happen.

Tax Advisers & Accountants in Tulse Hill, Dulwich, South London & The South West

Do ask a staff member if you would like more information or, indeed, if you would like any tax or accountancy help. Telephone 020 8761 8000 or contact us here. We are Read more

How To Help Your Accountant Save You Money

How to help your accountant save you money

There are many benefits of helping your accountant by providing complete and organised records from the outset.

Here are some of them:

  • If you get your records to your accountant on time, you will give them enough time to work on your case without unnecessary pressure and file everything on time (don’t forget you are not their only client).
  • By providing organised and detailed records, you’ll understand your business performance better and it will save them time from processing and reorganising untidy paperwork.
  • By providing complete records of your business expenses, they can claim what is allowable and potentially reduce your tax bill.

When preparing your financial records you need to remember:

  • Separate your business from your personal finances.
  • Stay on top of your records and ensure they are orderly with no gaps in the dates.
  • Keep receipts and purchase invoices; you will need to provide proof of all expenditure and year-end creditors.
  • Bring bank statements for the complete period and downloads of your bank feed in .csv format if possible.
  • Sequential invoices for each sale, dated, to prove year-end debtors and accrued income.
  • Depending on your business, you may also need to keep records for things such as payroll, cash books, stock takes, travel and credit card statements.

Taxfile offer the full spectrum of accountancy services.

In an ideal world:

  • It is much better to keep on top of these things monthly than leaving it until the end of the year, where you may have lost or forgotten data around expenses, sales, or other financial details.
  • You would have a software package to help you track your bank, expenses, and sales.

At Taxfile we provide the full spectrum of accountancy-related services; integrating your business with accounting software like Xero, oversee your bookkeeping, run VAT returns and payroll, to filing your year-end accounts, corporation tax return & director(s) tax return(s).

Call  us on 0208 761 8000 if you would like to streamline your businesses finances and alleviate some pressures from your financial duties as a director. Alternatively, book an appointment with us here or drop us a message here — we’d be delighted to hear from you.

Need a Limited Company? Questions you may be asking yourself

Need a Limited Company: Questions you may be asking yourself

“What are the main differences between being self-employed and running a limited company?”

“What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a private limited company?”

The major difference between running a private limited company and being self-employed are the administrative requirements you are required to do by law & although the volume is more, the data contained within those returns are pretty similar to being a sole trader.

A limited company will:

  • need to keep company records
  • report any changes to Companies House & HMRC
  • need to file an annual company tax return along with the company’s accounts, giving an undistorted view of its finances.

So why go through the extra cost and resources of having a Limited Company?

In forming a limited company, you are limiting your personal liability.  What this means is that the Limited Company becomes a legal entity of its own.  Think of it as another being, that you work for.  However, it is important to keep in mind that you cannot abuse your power with the limited liability, to take selfish and unnecessary risks.  As a director, you are ethically and morally responsible for the business decisions and transactions the company makes.

As a director of a private limited company you will:

  • make decisions that benefit the company rather than your own
  • abide by the rules and regulations outlined by the company Articles of Association, which are written rules about running the company agreed by the shareholders or guarantors, directors and the company secretary
  • notify any shareholders if you might benefit personally from a company transaction
  • always act with the intention of making the company successful.

Having a Limited company can also add professionalism to your business.  This can help your business become even more successful because customers, clients, and B2B companies will be more inclined to trust you and buy your products or services if you are a limited company rather than a sole trader. It is quite common for B2B companies only to trade with another limited company as a general rule.

A final benefit is, if you have a profitable Limited Company, how you distribute salaries and dividends can have income tax savings, especially once your Read more

Making Tax Digital (MTD) delayed due to Brexit

HMRC delays the rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for businesses & individuals beyond 2021:

Even though MTD for VAT has been rolled out, the wider extension of the MTD scheme for individuals & businesses has been delayed till at least 2021.

The Chancellor’s 2019 Spring Statement mentioned;

“The focus will be on supporting businesses to transition and the government will therefore not be mandating MTD for any new taxes or businesses in 2020.”

MTD for income & corporation tax was scheduled to come into effect from 2020, but as the UK prepares itself for Brexit, HMRC has redirected its focus on the implications of UK’s exit from the EU.

HMRC has said that its digital delivery team and business analysis team are being redeployed to focus on ensuring that a customs solution will be in place should it be required when the UK leaves the EU.

With the current perplexity surrounding Brexit, HMRC has stressed that ‘this does not indicate any expected outcome but is due to the level of work required to deliver any outcome’.

New tax planning & tax advice service from Taxfile

New: Tax Advice & Planning Service

New tax planning & tax advice service from Taxfile

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, Read more

The Spring Budget, March 2017

Spring Budget 2017: Key Changes Affecting SMEs & the Self-Employed

Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his Spring Budget to the House of Commons today.

If you missed it, you can watch and listen to the entire speech by clicking the video above. For those without 55 minutes to spare, we spotlight the key changes, particularly in relation to tax, National Insurance, the self-employed and small businesses.

  • For the self-employed, Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) were already set to be abolished from April 2018. Today, to the surprise of many, the Chancellor announced that Class 4 NIC rates will increase from 9% to 10% from April 2018, increasing again to 11% in April 2019. The Chancellor said that this was to more closely align self-employed NI rates with those paid by employees, particularly in view of the new State Pension to which the self-employed will now have access.
  • Tax-free dividends for those working through a limited company will also be reduced from the current £5,000 level to just £2,000 in April 2018. Corporation Tax will then be charged above that threshold. Again, the reason cited was to bring the self-employed more in line with employees in terms of tax paid overall.
  • The National Living Wage, for those over 25, will increase to £7.50 per hour from April.
  • From April this year, the personal allowance (the amount people can earn before paying income tax) will increase to £11,500 and to £12,500 by 2020. The threshold for higher rate tax will also increase from £43,000 to £45,000 this April.
  • Up to £2,000 (tax-free) will be available towards the cost of childcare for children under 12 from April this year. So for every 80 pence you pay in childcare costs up to £10,000 maximum, the government will add a further 20 pence.
  • Those lucky enough to be able to afford it will be able to save up to £20k maximum in their ISAs from this April. There will also be an NS&I bond introduced, which will pay 2.2% interest on a maximum of £3,000 per person.
  • There will be help for businesses following business rate increases, particularly pubs, which will receive a £1,000 discount if their rateable value is less than £100k (apparently that’s 90% of all English pubs). Also businesses coming out of ‘small business rate relief’ will be helped through the transition with a promise of increases no larger than £50 per month from next year.
  • There will also be an expansion of the clampdown on tax avoidance where some businesses were converting capital losses into trading losses.

Other announcements made by the Chancellor Read more

Taxfile multi-lingual staff at a glance

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

multi-lingual accountants and tax advisers[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

George Osborne

How the Chancellor’s 2014 Autumn Statement affects YOU!

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced his Autumn Statement on Wednesday (3 Dec 2014) in what could be seen as a mini budget. Here we focus on the key announcements, concentrating on those relating purely to taxation, as it is those which affect you, our customers, most directly.

1). First some good news: The UK is seeing the fastest growth out of all the G7 countries, and the number of people employed is at its highest point ever. This is good for all of us because it restores optimism in the UK economy, higher employment speaking for itself.

2). As we announced in a separate blog post, Stamp Duty (Land Tax) has been given a major shake-up and, for anyone buying a house for £935,000 or less, the amount of Stamp Duty which they’ll have to pay will be less, and sometimes very significant. See our separate blog post and infographic for more detail.

3). In the financial year 2015-16, the tax-free personal allowance (which is the amount you can earn before you start to pay any tax) will increase to 10,600 which is an increase of £600. So … more tax-free money in your pocket, which is good.

4). Economy flights will become cheaper for under 12s from 1 May 2015 and under 16s from 1 March 2016, because their tickets will become exempt from tax on those dates. So … a small concession, but another welcome one. Average 4-person families will save £26 for flights within Europe and £142 on flights to the U.S.

5). From 3 December 2014, spouses will be able to inherit their partner’s ISA benefits should their partner pass away. Currently this is not the case and the change will mean that, from 6 April 2015, the surviving spouse or civil partner will be able to Read more