Category: Accounting Posts

My Top 5 Accountants on Instagram

~ Nisha ~ 1 Comment

My top five favourite accountants on Instagram all happen to be women. It wasn’t a conscious decision to find just women but it does seem that there are more women out there starting their own business.  Maybe its the social media effect or maybe when you are so into something that is all you see.

Lately, while on Instagram, I’ve been finding quite a few accountants.  My initial thought was how is this even possible?  What kind of picture would you put up? Another P&L account. Maybe lots of numbers. Or Oooh! Look! The balance sheet balances!

However, these accountants are pretty normal and still somehow manage to make accounts look good on Instagram.  Sometimes, I wish I was starting my own accountancy practice now as it seems like a really exciting period to be a woman and become a sole practitioner.  Anyway, here’s my list of the top five (female) accountants that I have found so far:

Continue reading “My Top 5 Accountants on Instagram” →

Class 4 National Insurance and your profits

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Class 4 National Insurance is the final national insurance that is used by HMRC.  This is based on your self employed profits if they are over £8,424 (For the tax year 2018/19).  Continue reading “Class 4 National Insurance and your profits” →

Top 5 end of tax year tips

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My top 5 end of year tips listed below are just some of the things to think about as the tax year 2017/18 comes to an end. I guess the most important thing to think about is expenses and I’ve listed some of the main expenses that you might not have thought about below:

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Claiming just expenses on your tax return

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Recently I was asked if they could do a tax return if they didn’t have any sales and just put expenses through. My initial thought was why go through the whole hassle of doing a tax return and the stress of meeting the self-assessment deadline if you don’t have to? With a new business, you can go back up to 7 years to claim your expenses and if you earn less than £1000, you can receive trading allowance before you even need to declare your income.

Technically though you could claim just expenses. There are some restrictions in that you would need to prove to HMRC your business is genuine. You need to do at least 10 hours a week with a view to making a profit. Continue reading “Claiming just expenses on your tax return” →

Don’t forget your Marriage Allowance!

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The Marriage Allowance has been around since 5 April 2015. It allows you to transfer 10 % of your Personal Allowance (£1,150) to your husband, wife or civil partner – if they earn more than you. This reduces your partners tax by up to £230.

Who can apply for Marriage Allowance?

You need to meet the following conditions in order to apply for the marriage allowance:

·         You and your partner were born after 6 April 1935

·         You’re married or in a civil partnership

·         Your income is £11,500 or less

·         Your partner is a basic rate taxpayer (ie. income between £11,500 and £45,000 or £43,000 in Scotland)

If all these conditions apply, you claim can be backdated to include any tax year since 5 April 2015 that you were eligible for Marriage Allowance. You will keep getting the tax break in the future too as long as the eligibility doesn’t change.  If your circumstances do change, you or your partner can cancel the marriage allowance online.

How to apply

To apply for it online, follow this link https://www.gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance

To apply by phone, you can call HMRC on this number 0300 2000 3300

You will need yours and your partners national insurance number and something to prove your identity.

More information

More information can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

As usual, if you would like any further details on this or any other accountancy matters, please follow this link:

In the meantime, here is a download for next month’s tax deadlines: October tax dates

National Insurance Class 1

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Class 1 national insurance is due to HMRC if you are in employed work and are earning a salary at a certain level. Class 2 national insurance will be abolished in April 2018 leaving only a new potentially reformed Class 4 national insurance for self-employed workers.  The Class 4 NI could be changed to make it more like Class 1 NI with entitlement to state benefits that are currently available by paying Class 2 NI.  So, for that reason, I will look at Class 1 NI in more detail here. Continue reading “National Insurance Class 1” →

VAT rates in the UK

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VAT was originally introduced as a simple tax on purchases of goods and services in 1973. It was originally called the purchase tax but changed its name to VAT when the UK joined the EEC. VAT is now anything but simple.  It is an indirect tax charged on the purchase of goods and services. Most goods and services in the UK are charged at the standard rate of VAT which is currently set at 20%.  Continue reading “VAT rates in the UK” →

Are sales invoices really needed?

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What is a sales invoice?

A sales invoice is a request for payment by the seller for goods or services provided.  It is important for businesses to raise sales invoices for many reasons. Some of these reasons are listed below:

 

  • For tax purposes, HMRC require companies to keep evidence of sales made for at least 6 years and up to 10 years in certain circumstances. Companies also need a record of all the sales made in order to complete the year end accounts and calculate the amount of tax owed.The details on the invoice will show what you have supplied which can then help protect a business against any disputes.
  • By reconciling the debtors on a regular basis will highlight any outstanding debts that need to be chased.
  • Analysing the invoices can also be a good marketing tool to see how, what, where and when the products and services are being sold and which employee is making the most sales.

What needs to be shown on an invoice?

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My Favourite Accounting Apps

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These are just my favourite accounting apps and in the link to their website, which can be found by clicking the title, has no affiliate links that I benefit from.  There are obviously so many accounting apps out there that will help you sort out your finances and keep you on top of your paperwork and sometimes you just have to use trial and error to find the ones you are happy with. Continue reading “My Favourite Accounting Apps” →

Women in Tax – Leicester

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Last Thursday I attended the women in tax meeting at the RSM offices in Leicester. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it be formal? Would I have to talk about anything? I’m I intelligent enough to talk about anything tax related? It has been a while since I felt proficient in tax. The most I do now are personal tax returns. And I do generally leave it till the end of the year to really worry and think about them.  Continue reading “Women in Tax – Leicester” →