Accountants in Gipsy Hill

Disposing of crypto — selling, swapping one coin for another, spending it — is a capital gains event, and staking or mining income is usually income. Exchanges share data with HMRC, so the tax position exists whether or not it's been calculated.

HMRC receives data directly from online platforms about sellers' income. If a side hustle has grown past the £1,000 trading allowance, coming forward first is always cheaper than being written to — penalties scale with how the disclosure starts.

Directors paying themselves a salary still need a PAYE scheme and RTI submissions, even in a one-person company. It's a five-minute monthly task with software — and a recurring penalty generator without it.

If you contract through your own limited company, IR35 asks whether you'd be an employee without it. For medium and large clients, the status decision is theirs; for small clients, it's still yours — and getting it wrong in either direction costs money.

Scam "HMRC" messages outnumber real ones — HMRC doesn't demand payment by gift card or threaten arrest by text. Real letters have reference numbers that we can verify directly with HMRC before anyone responds.

First-year traders around Gipsy Hill 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.

Every year a wave of returns gets filed in the final days of January. It works, but it's the most expensive way to do it: no time to check for missed reliefs, and any tax due lands as one surprise. Sending your records early — even unsorted — is the single best gift you can give your January self.

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.