Accountants in Leighton Buzzard

From April 2026, self-employed people and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 move onto Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: digital records and quarterly updates to HMRC, not one annual return. The year before is the right time to get bookkeeping into shape.

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If a return is late because HMRC asked for one you don't actually need, it can sometimes be withdrawn entirely — penalties included. And where there's a genuine reasonable excuse, appeals succeed more often than people expect. The wrong move is ignoring the letters.

Selling a rental property triggers capital gains tax with a tight reporting window — UK residential sales must be reported and the tax paid within 60 days of completion. It's one of the easiest deadlines in the whole system to miss, and one of the most penalised.

Receipts win arguments. HMRC doesn't demand a shoebox of paper any more — photos in an app are fine — but every deduction needs evidence behind it. A ten-minute weekly habit beats a January archaeology dig, every time.

Payments on account catch people out because the first year effectively bills you one-and-a-half years of tax at once. Knowing that in advance changes how you save through the year — and if profits fall, we can apply to reduce the July payment rather than lending HMRC money interest-free.

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.