Accountants in Camden Lock

Timing disposals across tax years, using losses properly, and the spousal transfer rules can all legitimately reduce capital gains bills — but only before the sale. CGT planning after completion is just arithmetic.

People stay with the wrong accountant for years because switching feels disruptive. In practice the profession has a standard handover process — clearance letters, copies of prior returns and working papers — and the new firm drives it, not you.

Inside-IR35 and outside-IR35 engagements need different setups — sometimes umbrella, sometimes the company, sometimes both across a year. Contractors who plan this per-engagement keep more and worry less.

Dividends can only be paid from accumulated profits, and paperwork matters: board minutes and dividend vouchers, dated correctly. "Illegal dividends" isn't dramatic language — overdrawn payments can be reclassified, with tax consequences, if the profits weren't there.

Filing early doesn't mean paying early: submit a return in May and the tax is still not due until the usual dates. Early filing buys certainty, refund speed and time to arrange payment — it costs nothing.

A limited company juggles two regulators: Companies House wants accounts within nine months of year end, HMRC wants corporation tax paid at nine months and a day. Same starting point, different documents — and late filing penalties at Companies House escalate automatically and are rarely cancelled.

Subcontractors under the Construction Industry Scheme have 20% deducted at source — often more than their final tax bill once expenses and the personal allowance are counted. That's why CIS refunds are so common: the average claim is well into four figures, but only if the deduction statements are all gathered.

First-year traders around Camden Lock tend to make the same three mistakes: registering late, mixing business and personal spending in one account, and saving nothing for the first tax bill. All three are avoidable in an afternoon of setup.