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2 weeks to the Self-Assessment tax return deadline

2 WEEKS to the Self Assessment Tax Return Deadline!

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2 weeks to the Self-Assessment tax return deadline!

[As at 17 January 2019]: There are just 2 weeks left in which to file your Self Assessment tax return with HMRC. Miss the deadline (11.59pm on 31st January 2019) and you’ll straight away be in for a £100 fine from HRMC, so don’t delay — contact Taxfile TODAY to book an appointment with one of our helpful tax advisors and accountancy experts.

We’ll make filling in and filing your tax return a breeze and what’s more, we’re currently open 6 DAYS A WEEK from now until the end of January (Saturday mornings by appointment). Don’t leave it to the last minute, though, as there is always a bottleneck for those who do — so come in as early as you can this week.

It doesn’t matter if you have zero tax to pay – you still need to submit your tax return on time! You also need to have paid HMRC any tax due for the 2015-16 financial year by the same 31 January deadline.

So get our professional help with filing of your tax return — you can book an appointment online, drop by the Tulse Hill shop or the Battersea office to book one, send us an email message via our contact form or, better still, simply call us on 0208 761 8000 and we’ll book you in and help sort out your tax return accurately and on time. Don’t delay — time is quickly slipping by and if you leave it too late you’ll be caught in the last minute bottleneck!

We’ll require your records, figures and receipts for the financial year 6 April 2017 to 5 April 2018.

* Please note: in extremely busy times such as January, a deposit may be required before commencement of appointments.

Christmas & New Year Opening Times at Taxfile

Christmas & New Year Opening Times at Taxfile

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Christmas & New Year Opening Times at Taxfile

Please take a look at the calendar above and note our opening times over Christmas and New Year. As you can see, we’re closed on several days over the festive period. This is particularly important for those who need to come to see us for help with time-sensitive accounting and tax-related services in the run-up to January 31st.

Need Help Filing Your Tax Return?
Make an Appointment NOW!

In particular, we urge anyone who needs to file a 2017/18 Self-Assessment tax return to come and see us well before Christmas. By doing so, you’ll avoid the last minute stampede — way too many people leave it until January, which is the busiest time in the tax and accounting calendar. While the HMRC deadline for tax returns is the end of January, you run the risk of being caught up in the bottleneck if you leave things later than December. Taxfile files tax returns for thousands of customers during November, December and January, so we’re incredibly busy at this time of year — particularly January, which is frenetic! So, those leaving it until the last minute not only run the risk of being charged more to cover the long hours and overtime that we need to work during January, but they also risk receiving a fine from HMRC if they miss the deadline completely because they left things so late.

So the message is: please book an appointment with us now, ideally for a date before Christmas.

For Self-Assessment tax returns, records for the period 6th April 2017 to 5th April 2018 are required. For business accounts, we will also need to do accounts based upon the business’s individual year end.

Open for Saturday Appointments

We are happy to see people on Saturdays at this busy time of year (with the exception of the festive closures of course – see the calendar above). Saturday morning appointments should be more convenient for those who work on weekdays. As you can see on the calendar, we’re open from 10am to 1pm for most Saturdays in December and January but only for those with a pre-agreed appointment.

To book an appointment, please call 0208 761 8000 or book an appointment online here. Many thanks.

Letting a room through Airbnb? HMRC tracks your income & data!

Letting a Room through Airbnb? HMRC Tracks your Income!

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Letting a room through Airbnb? HMRC tracks your income & data!

Back in late 2015, we forewarned that HMRC was planning to force on-line companies like Airbnb to share customer income data with them. That plan has come to fruition and HMRC is now receiving detailed information from Airbnb and other online providers. The data will tell HMRC about lettings income that may have been previously falling under their radar.

Airbnb is an on-line marketplace where people can rent out rooms, cottages, apartments and suchlike to those looking for short-term accommodation, city breaks, holidays or lower cost alternatives to hotels and overnight business stays.

We understand that various on-line providers, including Airbnb, are now exchanging information with HMRC. HMRC then uses their analytical tool “Connect” to track and monitor income from such sources. This powerful application was developed by BAE Systems and is the most advanced data gathering tool HMRC has at its disposal.

So, if you let property or a room on Airbnb, you can expect detailed information to be passed to the Revenue about your letting activities and the income it generates. While you may currently be able to earn up to £7,500* per year tax-free for furnished accommodation under the Government’s ‘Rent a Room Scheme‘, care needs to be taken to submit a tax return and pay tax on any income received once you have gone over that limit. Higher rate taxpayers also need to take care if their rental income pushes them into a higher tax bracket.

In order to qualify under the Rent a Room Scheme:

  • The room must be furnished;
  • The relief cannot be used if you let your home whilst living abroad;
  • The accommodation provided cannot be office space or business space.

Changes arriving in 2019:

HMRC recently held a consultation with relevant professionals and the public about whether the scheme should continue in its present form. Following this, they have announced that the scheme will be more restricted; landlords who do not live in their “main residence” at the same time as their tenants will probably no longer be able to claim “rent a room relief” from 6 April 2019.

Tax Help & Advice for Lettings Income

If you need our help handling your lettings tax needs, Taxfile is here to assist you. We’re tax experts and can guide you through the maze of rules and regulations concerning lettings, renting out accommodation, tax thresholds, knowing when it’s appropriate to work under the Rent a Room Scheme, whether you can claim expenses and so on. Book an appointment at your nearest Taxfile office: for Tulse Hill in London SE21 book an appointment on-line here; book here for Dulwich in SE21; for Battersea in SW8 book your appointment here or for Exeter and the South West, book your appointment here. We also have tax advisers who are available in other UK locations including Poole in Dorset, Carlisle, Yorkshire and Plymouth. Alternatively, simply call 0208 761 8000 or send us an email here and we’ll be happy to help to get you on the right track.

Learn more about our services to landlords and those earning an income from property lettings here.

* Correct for tax years 2016-17 and 2017-18. For tax year 2015-16 the threshold was only £4,250. Also note that the current year’s threshold reduces to £3,750 if someone else, for example a joint owner, receives lettings income in the same property.

Overseas assests - requirement to correct

Undeclared Overseas Assets? Beware the ‘Requirement to Correct’ Deadline!

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Overseas assests - requirement to correct

What does this mean for me?

If you are a taxpayer with overseas assets which are undeclared as regards income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax, you have an obligation to sort things out by 30 September 2018.

People who ignore this requirement and whose income or assets subsequently come to light will face much, much higher penalties and sanctions after the deadline.

Why bother now?

The United Kingdom has signed up for information exchange with a whole host of other countries. The information it receives from them will be input into its intelligence system known as Connect. This increases the likelihood of undeclared sources coming to light.

What if I do nothing?

After the deadline date, if your undeclared sources of income or gains come to light, you will face potential penalties as follows:

  • A tax geared penalty of between 100% and 200% of the tax due;
  • A potential asset based penalty of up to 10% of the asset value where the relevant tax at stake is over £25,000 in any one tax year;
  • Adverse publicity from being publicly named as a tax cheat where the tax is over £25,000;
  • A further potential penalty of 50% of the standard penalty if the Revenue show that assets or funds have been moved in an attempt to avoid the requirement to correct.

If you have a reasonable excuse for failing to correct your tax position, such as failing health for example, then penalties may be reduced or not charged in exceptional circumstances.

Get Started:

If you think you might be affected or are in any doubt, we suggest you act now to avoid any problems before the deadline.

Call Taxfile on 0208 761 8000 for a no-obligation discussion if you want to put things right. Alternatively, book an appointment here. We have a wealth of experience in dealing with voluntary disclosures and negotiating settlements with HMRC, so can definitely help you. We offer tax advice and accountancy services from our offices in Tulse Hill, Dulwich and Battersea in South and South West London along with tax experts in Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Dorset, Devon, Yorkshire and Carlisle.

Using 'Trading Income Allowance' to save tax

Making the Most of your Tax Allowances for Small Trading?

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Using 'Trading Income Allowance' to save tax

Are you making the most of your tax allowances for small trading? If you have small earnings from self employment, then it may be advantageous to make a claim for Trading Income Allowance i.e. to claim a flat rate deduction of £1,000 for expenses instead of claiming the actual expenses incurred.

Example:

Christina has income of £2,360 and expenses for web hosting of £204, software of £103 and publishing costs of £430
(total expenses £737).

As her expenses are less than £1,000 she can claim £1,000 Trading Income Allowance in preference to claiming the actual expenses.

Her taxable profit therefore becomes £1,360 instead of £1,623. So, she pays less tax!

This is just one simple way in which Taxfile’s knowledge of the tax system can help its customers pay less tax in a totally acceptable way from HMRC’s perspective.

Contact your nearest Taxfile branch

Please do contact us for any accountancy work that you or your business(es) require. We’re tax experts and are also very well trusted by HMRC because we deal with them on a daily basis on behalf hundreds of clients. We have several UK branches including in Tulse Hill, Dulwich and Battersea in London, Exeter and Plymouth in the South West along with our tax specialists in Poole (Dorset), Carlisle in the North of England and Yorkshire in the North East. Call 0208 761 8000 or contact us here for more information — we’ll be happy to help you to get your tax affairs in order in the most tax-efficient way.

New tax planning & tax advice service from Taxfile

New: Tax Advice & Planning Service

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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

Final day to submit your Self-Assessment tax return

TODAY is the Self Assessment Tax Return Deadline!

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Final day to submit your Self-Assessment tax return

[As at 31 January]: There is just TODAY left to file your Self Assessment tax return with HMRC. Miss the deadline (11.59pm tonight) and you’ll straight away be in for a £100 fine from HRMC, so don’t delay — contact Taxfile TODAY to book an appointment with one of our helpful tax advisors and accountancy experts.

We’ll make filling in and filing your tax return a breeze and what’s more, we’re currently open 6 DAYS A WEEK from now until the end of January (Saturday mornings by appointment only). Don’t leave it to the last minute, though, as there is always a bottleneck for those who do — so come in as early as you can this week.

It doesn’t matter if you have zero tax to pay – you still need to submit your tax return on time! You also need to have paid HMRC any tax due for the 2016-17 financial year by the same 31 January deadline.

So get our professional help with filing of your tax return — you can book an appointment online*, drop by the Tulse Hill shop to book one, send us an email message via our contact form or, better still, simply call us on 0208 761 8000 and we’ll book you in and help sort out your tax return accurately and on time. Don’t delay — time is quickly slipping by and if you leave it too late you’ll be caught in the last minute bottleneck!

We’ll require your records, figures and receipts for the financial year 6 April 2016 to 5 April 2017.

* Please note: in extremely busy times such as January, a deposit may be required before commencement of appointments.

Tax returns & tax refunds, South London

Need help with your 2016-17 tax return?

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Tax returns & tax refunds, South London

Act fast to save money!

[Updated 21 December 2017] Do you need Taxfile to sort out and file your tax return? We’d be very happy to help and do well over 1000 Self Assessment tax returns for customers every year.

However you need, please, to start giving us your paperwork ideally during December or, at a push, up to the 10th January 2018 absolute latest if you are to avoid the price increases that may come into effect thereafter. (Price increases are sometimes necessary during the busiest accounting months of the year in order to cover the extra staff needed, overtime for long hours, evening and weekend work, particularly to work on returns for those who have left it until the last minute. After 10th January, the accounting world goes mad as everyone tries to hit the January tax return deadline all at the same time — we’ll have something like 400 last-minute tax returns to do in one crazy month). So the message is:

Avoid both the bottlenecks — and a likely price increase from 10th January 2018 — by coming to see us for your tax return as soon as possible. You can book your appointment online at taxfile.co.uk/appointments/ or call the office on 0208 761 8000 (07766 495 871 after hours). If English is not your first language we can still help, as our team speaks a variety of languages.

Please don’t leave it to the last minute – thank you.

We’ll require your records, figures and receipts for the financial year 6 April 2016 to 5 April 2017.

Late with your tax return and tax payment?

Missed the tax return deadline? What now?

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Missed the tax return deadline? What now?If you missed the deadline to submit your self-assessment tax return, the first thing to know is that you are now into the penalty stage. HMRC applies an automatic £100 penalty to those who are even 1 day late (the deadline was 11.59pm on 31st January) and further penalties are added if you take even longer to comply. It’s worse, of course, if you also haven’t paid any tax owed as you’ll then owe interest too, so our advice is to pay as much as you can before 28th February, so you’ll reduce any element of interest. However, if there is a genuine reason why you were late with your return, and it fits certain criteria, you have the option to appeal …

Circumstances that are taken into account by HMRC when considering appeals include:

  • if a close relative or partner died shortly before the tax return or payment deadline;
  • if you had to stay in hospital unexpectedly;
  • if you had a life-threatening or serious illness;
  • if your computer or software failed at the time you were preparing your online return;
  • if HMRC’s online services were disrupted;
  • if you were prevented from filing your return or paying your tax because of a fire, flood or theft;
  • if there were unexpected postal delays;
  • and occasionally other reasons which, if genuine, HMRC may deem to be relevant.

Excuses that aren’t usually accepted by HMRC include: Read more

TODAY is the deadline for submission of your tax return. Contact Taxfile for help filing & avoid a minimum £100 fine!

10 DAYS to the Self Assessment Tax Return Deadline!

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10 days to the Self Assessment tax return deadline

There are just 10 days left in which to file your Self Assessment tax return with HMRC. Miss the deadline (11.59pm on 31st January 2017) and you’ll straight away be in for a £100 fine from HRMC, so don’t delay — contact Taxfile TODAY to book an appointment with one of our helpful tax advisors and accountancy experts.

We’ll make filling in and filing your tax return a breeze and what’s more, we’re currently open 6 DAYS A WEEK from now until the end of January (Saturday mornings by appointment). Don’t leave it to the last minute, though, as there is always a bottleneck for those who do — so come in as early as you can this week.

It doesn’t matter if you have zero tax to pay – you still need to submit your tax return on time! You also need to have paid HMRC any tax due for the 2015-16 financial year by the same 31 January deadline.

So get our professional help with filing of your tax return — you can book an appointment online, drop by the Tulse Hill shop to book one, send us an email message via our contact form or, better still, simply call us on 0208 761 8000 and we’ll book you in and help sort out your tax return accurately and on time. Don’t delay — time is quickly slipping by!