Don’t be overtaxed If you work from home and you ask HMRC how much you can charge for using your home as an office, you’ll get one answer: £2 a week. That’s a little over £100 a year. Without the advice of an accountant that is all you’d be able to offset against tax....
Choosing your accounts software To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer – you’ll remember that adage if you are of a certain age. But the reality is that these days we all need to do our accounts on a computer. That means choosing what...
Choosing your accountant Choosing the right accountant for you and your business is crucial. You need to be able to trust your accountant to do the best for you, to give you accurate advice and to present your affairs in an honest and accurate manner to the taxman....
Get an accountant Every creative freelance should hire an accountant to do their accounts and file their tax returns. Many freelances refuse to pay an accountant, preferring instead to struggle through their self-assessment form themselves. Well good luck to you, if...
Paperwork Organise yourself. Ask for receipts and keep them. In fact, file them – don’t just stuff them in a carrier bag to deal with later. Handing over a shoebox of receipts to an accountant at the end of the year is a guarantee of a more expensive accountant’s bill...
Happy new year Today is the first day of the new tax year (it runs to 5 April 2013). As of today you can earn £7,440 over the next 12 months without paying any tax. But that is £7,440 after expenses. That’s after you have deducted the cost of travel, of equipment, of...