Tax what should you declare

[Guest lightnix]

You never know: they may be able to identify items purchased for use in your full time job, which can be offset agains tax.

 

Such as Tooling and safety clothing/ gear?

Yes, although it should be written into your contract that it is your responsibility to supply such items, otherwise the taxman might think you are buying them for personal use (perish the thought).

 

For me the greatest advantage of an accountant is that he speaks tax man, so I don't have to.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

 

I pay £600 a year, which I have always thought to be a little high but the guy came recommended...

What does everyone else pay?

I pay mine about £450 - 500, with a similar level of preparation and the figures summarised for quick reference on a few sheets of A4, BUT I've been with him over twenty years, have put a fair few clients his way, always pay him on time (if not earlier) and send a little token of my appreciation at Christmas time. I know that in respect of this, he doesn't charge for every single letter and 'phone call.

[andy jackson]

sorry to drag this up again but can you offset union and ABTT membership against your taxes?

 

Cheers

Andy

[David Lee]

sorry to drag this up again but can you offset union and ABTT membership against your taxes?

 

Cheers

Andy

 

Fairly certain the come under legal and professional cost. (3.40 on the 2005 self employment tax return)

 

For me the greatest advantage of an accountant is that he speaks tax man, so I don't have to.

 

never had a problem with talking to them - they are always polite and helpful, unless you say something like "I don't know if I can pay that......"

 

I'd rather talk to them than my last accountant who decided not to file my return and spend two years blaming the inland revenue. Not happy about that as it is still my responsibility and I got a lot of fines.(long story..)

[Guest lightnix]

...can you offset union and ABTT membership against your taxes?

Yes. I always have, on the advice of my accountant, as they are expenses incurred in the pursuit of my business.

 

For me the greatest advantage of an accountant is that he speaks tax man, so I don't have to.

never had a problem with talking to them - they are always polite and helpful, unless you say something like "I don't know if I can pay that......"

 

I'd rather talk to them than my last accountant who decided not to file my return and spend two years blaming the inland revenue. Not happy about that as it is still my responsibility and I got a lot of fines.(long story..)

Sorry to hear about your accounting problems, luckily I've had no trouble with mine over the years, bar the occasional minor misunderstanding.

 

I must say that the Revenue have been very helpful whenever I've dealt with them directly. On the odd occasion when I've not been able to pay my bill on time, they've been more than happy to offer flexible terms, on the understanding that it will cost me interest on the outstanding amount. They far prefer to deal with people who are honest and open about the state of their finances, than those who try to hide and never reply to their letters :)

 

Even so, my accountant came in very handy the other year, when the IR decided to hit me with an Aspect Enquiry over my travel expenses. The whole thing went on for six months and if it was down to me alone, I'd probably have paid the extra £200 in tax that they wanted, just to avoid the grief; but dear old Brian dug his heels in and politely, but firmly, told them where to poke it and for less money :)

[pscandrett]

Hello

 

My query is similar to this thread, so I've tacked it on the end of it - if it's deemed sufficiently different then perhaps one of the mods could split it.

 

I have a full time job, similar to the OP, who deals with my PAYE/NI and everything is hunkydory. I work for a charity (see sig).

 

Personally I own 4 movers, an LX desk and a hazer; originally bought because the desk was very cheap on ebay, and I used it (and subsequently the movers) at work for free to gain experience with movers and a more complex desk, and also to enhance the gigs we were doing - a sort of 'gift in kind' to the organisation, if you see what I mean, because they didn't have anything beyond dimmers and static lights.

 

To cut a long story short, as word got around people began to borrow the desk/lights for various things - sometimes charity gigs, sometimes stuff I was involved with, sometimes stuff I wanted to support. Increasingly people wanted to give me money for this rather than a box of chocolates. The word 'hire' was increasingly used and prices requested, and receipts asked for upon payment.

 

It didn't/doesn't happen /that/ often but I've been thinking recently that it probably ought to be taxed properly. We're only talking a £2-£300 a year really, and I've been keeping money back to cover any tax that might be owed on it.

 

My question is therefore twofold:

 

1 - when does a gift for borrowing stuff become a source of income and thus taxable? For example, if you forget the lights but someone, say, borrowed my (fictitious) caravan for a weekend and wanted to give me £50 for it, would that be different? What if it was every weekend? What if I was a whizz at fixing caravans and was given £20 by a friend for going round to theirs and fixing their caravan as a thank you? What about a few beers? Indeed, what if a friend gives me a generous cash Christmas present? Are all these analogous?

 

2 - assuming I owe the taxman money, and other than the suggestion of 'talk to your tax office' (which I've not done yet, I wanted a bit of background first!), will I have to fill in a self-assessment form and be condemned to a life of miserable tax-form-filling for the sake of a few hundred quid? An accountant would swallow that money and leave me worse off than before!

 

The thread doesn't directly answer my questions because I'm not self employed and it's not me being employed to go out and do a gig on my lieu days etc.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[paulears]

If it's only a few hundred quids worth of income, then you can declare it on your tax return - there is a section for it. However, don't forget that replacement lamps, transport, servicing etc come out of your pocket too, so can be used to lower the liability. So if you take £300 over the year, but it costs you £100 in new lamps and odds and ends - then this comes off the £300 - you only pay tax on profit. So keep some records and all should be well. The IR understand people often do things for 'love and don't cripple you unless they believe you are taking the mick. It's quite common for people to make a loss!

[pscandrett]

If it's only a few hundred quids worth of income, then you can declare it on your tax return

So you reckon I need to get a tax return then? Is there a 'please send me a tax return' form I need to fill in? Are they actually as bad as everyone makes out?

[Rob_Beech]

Not as bad as people make out, you only fill in the necessary parts. I agree it needs to be done, its the only way to do it really, if you dont, and they suspect something, or find something out, they are likely to expect it is going out as a full system every weekend or more frequent. If you're fair with them they should be fair with you. thats how I've always found it.

[dbuckley]

If you are going to fill out a tax return, then get a computer program to do it. I used to use the Which? one, but it no longer exists. Its from the second and subsequent years you get the most benefits, as you already hae loads of stuff filled in that doesnt change from year to year.

[peternewman]

I'd assume, although I don't know, this would be the big benefit of the online self assessment?

[IanG]

Yes. Online self assessment is dead easy, as long as you keep all of the relevant paperwork that your employer (if you have one) gives you.