Accountants

I would say yes.

You may well be good at paperwork and submit accurate accounts in respect of gross income. But do you know how much depreciation of assets can be offset in the first year and so on, how much you can claim in respect of using your home as an office etc. You could under claim in which case it would cost you at source and if you over claimed you would be in trouble should you be subject to a tax investigation.

Say you are a new small one man band and invest several thousands of pounds on start up equipment but do not actually earn a lot in the first year and fall below the tax threshold. Would you know that you can defer some of the capital expenditure over to the following year.

What I have stated is second hand information and may well not be strictly correct but hopefully conveys a scenario. It could be that if you are prepared to read up on the regulations then the end result will be compliant

Say for a small one man band an accountant would charge £100 to £200 to process everything and send it to the Inland revenue, with a copy to you.
Would I complete a set of accounts that were accurate and compliant to the tax regulations and at the same time minimise by tax liability in one and a half days. No I could not. That is not to say that others cant.
But I could earn over £200.

So for me it is easy. Keep working, pay an accountant and don't fear the reaper , commonly known as the tax man.

Replies

Kieran Ray November 22, 2009 at 6:55pm

If you are good at paperwork and are not VAT registerd then I'd say no. I am now but only due to being VAT registerd.
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Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd November 22, 2009 at 8:05pm

I use an accountant for my garden maintenance business.

I pay £739 + Vat per year. I am VAT registered, and I employ 3 people.

The peace of mind a good accountant gives me is well worth it. Also they will tell you what you can and can't claim for (like use of home).
GORDON November 22, 2009 at 8:25pm

I would say yes.

You may well be good at paperwork and submit accurate accounts in respect of gross income. But do you know how much depreciation of assets can be offset in the first year and so on, how much you can claim in respect of using your home as an office etc. You could under claim in which case it would cost you at source and if you over claimed you would be in trouble should you be subject to a tax investigation.

Say you are a new small one man band and invest several thousands of pounds on start up equipment but do not actually earn a lot in the first year and fall below the tax threshold. Would you know that you can defer some of the capital expenditure over to the following year.

What I have stated is second hand information and may well not be strictly correct but hopefully conveys a scenario. It could be that if you are prepared to read up on the regulations then the end result will be compliant

Say for a small one man band an accountant would charge £100 to £200 to process everything and send it to the Inland revenue, with a copy to you.
Would I complete a set of accounts that were accurate and compliant to the tax regulations and at the same time minimise by tax liability in one and a half days. No I could not. That is not to say that others cant.
But I could earn over £200.

So for me it is easy. Keep working, pay an accountant and don't fear the reaper , commonly known as the tax man.
Neil Petrie BSc Landscape Mgt November 22, 2009 at 9:23pm

Doing all my accounts really is not fun. Have done it in years gone by but as has been noted already when you have more to claim against, depreciation etc it becomes a lot more complicated. I am about to hand a years worth of receipts and bank statements in a shoebox to my accountant and he#ll give me comprehensive books back in a few weeks for a couple if hundred pounds. Easy peasy. If I did it myself it'd cost me loads more in unclaimed expenses.

Even something as simple as me buying a new van and factoring in the old van for the time I've had it and its value now etc. He does it all.
Sean Busby November 23, 2009 at 9:41am

I'd agree with several others. As a one man operation it's relatively simple for me to keep ordered records throughout the year of income and expenditure. At the right time hand over all this info plus bank statements etc to an accountant and let them do what they're good at. I pay no more than £100 p.a. I'm not VAT registered. Easy.