Ascot Drummondonline accounting for your business

Online Convenience - Personal Service

Services in detail - Tax

  • Corporation tax
  • VAT
  • Personal taxation

Ascot Drummond offers a comprehensive tax advice service:

  • Personal Tax services offered include; tax planning (payments and liabilities), completion of year-end accounts and Self Assessment.
  • Corporation Tax services include tax planning (payments and liabilities) and completion of year-end accounts.
  • VAT services include; VAT registration, VAT planning and administration, VAT returns and reconciliation and liaison with HMRC.

Personal Tax services

Ascot Drummond can complete your tax returns and make agreed payments online.

Personal tax (Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax) is arguably the most understood of all of the taxes, as most of the population pay it in a very visible way. Since the introduction of self-assessment, the self employed, the employed, investors and trusts all need to understand the new rules, to minimise their overall tax exposure.
We are typically asked to advise on:

  • Income and capital gains tax on buy-to-let residential properties,
  • Disclosure and taxation of benefits in kind,
  • Filing and payment deadlines, together with the self assessment interest and penalty regime for when these deadlines are breached,
  • Claiming maximum relief for contributions into pensions.

Understanding this complicated tax system and paying the minimum amount of personal tax, at the correct time, through the correct mechanism, is what most clients seek. Speak to our tax technicians and put your mind at ease. We may even be able to suggest ways to restructure your business to save further tax.

Corporation Tax services

At any stage throughout the year, Ascot Drummond can tell you your estimated corporation tax liability. We aim to minimize your exposure to unwelcome surprises.

Month by month we work on your accounts as your taxation liability grows throughout the year. Ascot Drummond will complete your year-end accounts and Corporation Tax return within 3 months of the year end, (providing we are in receipt of all the necessary information). This gives you advance notice of any Corporation Tax liability. Ascot Drummond can then submit an abbreviated set of accounts to Companies House.. Companies pay Corporation Tax on net profits at the end of every trading year. Corporation Tax charge is paid annually, a month after the end of the trading year. Enough funding to cover any liabilities must be ring-fenced for paying the tax bill when it comes.

Records

You must keep and retain adequate business and accounting records to file an accurate Company Tax return and calculate how much Corporation Tax you need to pay.
These records include:

  • a record of your company's assets, for example, a record of 'capital expenditure' such as the purchase and sale or disposal of company assets, equipment, office furniture and vehicles
  • a record of your company's liabilities
  • a record of your company's income and expenditure
  • details of any stock on hand at the end of your financial year

Generally, if your company keeps these records, you will not need to keep additional records for Corporation Tax.
The business records that your company or organisation must keep for Corporation Tax purposes include the following:

  • annual accounts, including your profit and loss statement and balance sheet
  • bank statements and paying-in slips
  • a cash book and any other account books you keep
  • purchases and sales books or ledgers
  • invoices and any record of daily takings such as till rolls
  • order records and delivery notes
  • a petty cash book
  • other relevant business correspondence

Your records should:

  • be complete and up to date
  • allow you to work out correctly the amount of Corporation Tax you owe to HM RC or can reclaim.
  • allow you to file an accurate Company Tax return
  • are easily accessible if HMRC asks to see them during an enquiry into your Corporation Tax affairs

You must retain your records for at least six years from the end of your Corporation Tax accounting period. If you prefer, you can keep a copy of most of them as a scanned PDF, files saved on a CD-ROM or files saved on an optical imaging system. There are certain records that you must keep in their original form. These include:

  • dividend vouchers
  • bank interest certificates
  • Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) vouchers - (these vouchers were used before the current scheme was introduced in April 2007)

Ascot Drummond will help you with keeping records and importantly keeping to deadlines.

VAT services

Ascot Drummond will regularly review your accounting information to ensure you are on the VAT scheme that is most suitable for your business.

Ascot Drummond provides a comprehensive VAT support service.

  • We calculate the VAT due on your invoices, track the VAT owing to HMRC on your web site and complete your quarterly VAT return for you.
  • We complete your VAT return from the information which you have entered to your secure site and send you reminders of deadlines.
  • You can review your VAT return online. Once you authorise the return, Ascot Drummond will submit it online on your behalf.
  • All you have to do is receive a refund or make a payment.

If you are in business, you must register for VAT if your turnover is above £67,000 in any 12 month period. This is known as the VAT registration threshold. It changes regularly, so you should regularly check your turnover against the current threshold.

You must also register for VAT if:

  • you think your turnover may go over the threshold in the next 30 days
  • you take over a VAT registered business as a going concern
  • you are selling goods into the UK from another country in the EU and exceed the 'distance selling threshold' - see the section below on registration and international trading .

Companies can voluntarily register if your turnover is below the threshold. This allows you to recover the VAT, which you have been charged on company expenses. Ascot Drummond can review the effects of registration on your company. If registration can save you money, Ascot Drummond will complete the required online forms for you.

VAT is due to HMRC on a quarterly basis but you can elect to submit an Annual Vat return. It must be paid one month after each quarter is finished. If HMRC receives your VAT return or VAT payment after the due date, you may have to pay a surcharge in addition to the VAT that you owe.