If you would like to discuss our accountancy & taxation services in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact us either by phone or email. We will be delighted to help!
Below you will find answers to some of our most common tax, business, & accountancy questions.
This information is prepared for guidance only. We recommend that you contact us before acting on any information contained in the website and we cannot accept responsibility for any action taken without such advice.
You can operate as a Sole Trader or as a Limited company. There are tax advantages and disadvantages to both. If you plan to set up the business with a partner then you could register as a partnership or a limited liability partnership. Many people start up as a sole trader or partnership, and then transfer to a limited company after a few years.
We can advise you of the pros and cons of each structure and will set up the structure that you choose.
You must register your business for VAT when its turnover (sales) reaches the registration level which is currently £81,000 (2014/15) unless it is eligible to be exempt (e.g. medical businesses and some financial services businesses). We can help with the registration process and advise on whether the flat rate scheme is suitable for your business.
Under the current stake holder pension rules, you should have a stake holder pension scheme arrangement set up, even if none of your employees opts to use it. The auto-enrolment rules are coming into effect over the coming years, and all employers will need to auto enrol their employees in a recognised pension scheme. We can help you through the maze of information on this.
The benefit in kind tax charge is based on the list price of the car when it was new, and this does not change as it gets older other than the percentage charge applied to the list price usually increased each year. We can advise you in detail on the options you have to mitigate this tax liability.
The state pension is paid to the pensioner without tax deducted at source. The tax will be collected from the other pension that you receive. If your total taxable income exceeds the higher rate tax threshold, and you receive investment income such as dividends, bank interest etc., you will need to complete a tax return so that you declare the higher rate tax due even though this income was taxed at source.
If the company is able to pay all its outstanding liabilities it can be closed down using a straight forward procedure without appointing a liquidator, in most but not all circumstances. Please call us and we can explain how you can achieve this.
The Revenue prefers that you pay your taxes by telephone or internet banking. The account details are as follows:-
Corporation Tax
Account Name: HMRC
Sort Code: 08-32-10
Account No: 12001039
Self-assessment Tax / PAYE
Account Name: HMRC
Sort Code: 08-32-10
Account No: 12001039 Cumbernauld
12001020 Shipley
VAT
Account Name: HMRC VAT
Sort Code: 08-32-00
Account No: 11963155
It is vital that you complete the reference section with your tax number, otherwise the Revenue may lose the payment.
If the company is a small company, which generally means that the total value of its sales is less than £6.5 million, then the accounts do not generally need to be audited, but they need to be prepared to comply with company law and filed at Companies House. There are a few exceptions, but if you speak to us we can let you know if your company needs an audit.