Tax Return or Self Assessment Nightmare “After” Christmas
Tax Return or Self Assessment Nightmare “After” Xmas, BWA HA HAHA !!!
Finally after finishing all our clients’Tax Returns we can open this long awaited Blog and nothing better than to use the Tax Returns topic as the perfect excuse. You may find inner peace (if you’ve done yours), but you still need to pay the bill now BWA HA HAHA !!!
Remember if you cannot pay the full amount, the interest on the outstanding balance is not so big, but don’t get too relaxed.
Playing with our CartoonGuy we were doing some advertising by asking if:
Is there any similarity with you and the picture on the left?
We were also saying: why not put your mind at rest and let us help you with your tax return?
We thought that throwing out some tips for you now for Tax Returns may not be so significant for your current Bill but could be helpful for preparing for the next period which is just commencing to start with a clean slate and hope this year gets off to a great start!!!
We’re not sending you the Philosopher’s Stone, but what we would say is what we say often to our Clients, which is:
Let’s start at the top, bear in mind that your tax year for the next bill starts from 6 April 2014 to 5 April 2015 however it’s not as simple as it appears! Be aware that if you registered as self employed on the 1st April, thinking that the Tax Year is April to March, you may end up in unclear waters if you don’t declare those five days. This small mistake can occur easily as happened to one of our clients before he joined us and he had to pay a penalty; don’t follow in his footsteps.
He’s a stylist who approached us as other creative people do because we are a one stop shop Business Solutions Company for art practitioners (but not exclusive to them). What we do for them includes: Tax, Accountancy, Bookkeeping, Payroll, Company formation & administration, budgeting and other planning. Mentoring, Coaching and Marketing support for growth and blablabla… and the flaw with the tax year that happened to our client above prompted us to build some tips. We giggled a bit but understand that just because we are Creative Accountants but we do not do Creative Accounting.
There may be a lot of numbers and figures to calculate but the truth is if you have a picture of yours expenses, then it will be much easier to calculate how much you can claim or how much you must pay to Her Majesty Revenue and Customs(HMRC).
Keeping your receipts in one place saves valuable time in recording your transactions. But if you want better results here’s a simple suggestion. You can keep them in twelve separate envelops by month, start from April to March; just use those brown ones that HMRC send you with your reminder. A bit of recycling!
These little steps can make keeping record much simpler and if you have a break during the summer put all of this in an Excel spread sheet, it’s worth it.
We know the The Bill could be a huge punch in your face at the end of the year, especially as Xmas has probably left a big dent in your wallet. So why not put aside some money as it comes in? But: How much to put in the pot? We would say 18 % of your earnings as a good gage, just like having some savings, similar to the stamps scheme that some supermarkets do these days towards your Christmas shopping
There is an alternative way of Paying HMRC which you may not have considered and might make things easier. As we say to our clients, instead of waiting to pay when it’s due, or being late with the bill, that you can pay a fraction in advance, but if that doesn’t suit your pocket then there’s always paying by instalments afterwards. It can relieve the stress a little, but wouldn’t a refund be nice to receive once in a while? Check out your instalments and balance in your account on their website (HMRC) in case you’ve paid too much.
Now if you got this, you think you’ve already mastered these brief tips? Think you need to know more? We strongly recommend you check out HMRC website for guidance on specific areas or even updates or amendments in legislation. But if you find the way they present the information like a maze or too mind blowing, then we’re here and we’ll gladly help.
Before you go! Let’s be clear. Recording your transactions doesn’t need to be boring or tedious; it’s like when you record or track each calorie intake and measuring your weight when you diet. People do it already and they enjoy and have the benefit of losing weight or getting fit. There’s not such a huge difference so why don’t you get your accounts fit or get your budget in shape for the New Year?
We leave you now in the company of our Cartoon Guy who may or may not represent you but maybe someone else you know? He’s our paradigm and he’s helping us to build some tips in several areas of our business because our services are provided in a friendly and approachable manner and in terms that you can enjoy and understand the punch line.
... au revoir
