Latest blogs for Services

Abbreviated Accounts RIP: So what next ? For accounting periods commencing on or after 1-Jan-16 SME companies will no longer be able to file abbreviated accounts on the public record at Companies House. Instead, they will have to choose from: Full accounts, Filleted accounts (full accounts minus the Directors Report and Profit & Loss Account…

Landlords: Get ready for submitting 4 tax returns a year? H M Revenue & Customs will be implementing ‘ Making Tax Digital’ over the coming few years. Their aim is for ‘most’ landlords to be reporting their income each quarter via their digital tax account rather than after the end of the tax year on a tax return.

NewCo: Select and protect a unique company name. When a new company incorporates, its name should not be exactly the same as another registered company’s name or too similar to another. Same names also include those where the only difference is punctuation, a special character or particular words e.g. UK; .com. Too similar names may…

Itchy Feet: Is now the time to start your own business? We are here for all of your accountancy requirements, Corporation Tax, Income Tax, VAT, PAYE, as well as Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax. We pride ourselves at being experienced with dealing with businesses and being available no matter how big or small the…

CIS: Big administration changes. With effect from 6 April 2016, a lot has changed within the CIS processing sector: The abolishment of the paper return, Amendment to the nil return obligation, Changes to the Compliance and Turnover tests when applying for Gross status. Paper seems to be a thing of the past and so HMRC…

Business Exit Planning: A case study. Three years ago, I was approached by business owners who wanted advice on exit planning. The owners had built up a successful business over 20 years and were now in their late fifties. The business is a leader in its field and operates with a high level of professionalism. The owners…

Contractors: Don’t pay too much flat rate VAT. Just three weeks ago it was reported that the VAT flat rate scheme guidance was flawed. The ATT had highlighted that HMRC’s practice was costing traders, as they were forced to pay more VAT to HMRC under the flat rate scheme than the law required. HMRC has…

Business Acquisition: Whitings help client buy-out a competitor. Whiting & Partners, the CFN’s representative in Suffolk, has successfully advised a pest control business on its acquisition of a key competitor. The owners of the acquisitive pest control business approached us. The company was contacted by a competitor, who wanted to retire and wondered if they…

Start-ups: Maximise tax relief on pre-trading expenses. When starting out in business, it is possible that you will incur significant costs before you start trading. Some common expenses that fall into this category are advertising, insurance, rent & rates, stationery, machinery leasing and website hosting. The good news is that such expenses incurred no more…

2016/17 Personal Allowance: Utilise against dividend income? The start of the 2016/17 tax year saw the introduction of the personal savings allowance, which tax exempts up to £1,000 of savings income for basic rate tax payers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers (additional rate taxpayers do not receive an allowance).  In addition, a new £5,000…