Accountants in Mount Pellon

Selling online, freelancing on the side, renting out equipment — each can be a "trade" in HMRC's eyes once it's done with a profit motive. The good news: registering is straightforward, expenses become claimable, and done early it's a non-event.

Company deadlines run off your accounting year end, not the tax year: corporation tax is payable nine months and one day after year end, and the CT600 return is due twelve months after. Confusingly, the payment is due before the return — a sequencing quirk that catches new directors.

Online Self Assessment returns are due by 31 January, along with any balancing payment — and HMRC's £100 penalty applies the moment the deadline passes, even if you owe nothing. Most Mount Pellon clients who come to us in January still file on time; the records just need to arrive before the last week.

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.

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.

The first tax bill is the hardest because it can arrive with payments on account attached — up to 150% of the year's tax in one go. New businesses that save a quarter to a third of profits from day one never feel it.

Incorporation isn't a milestone, it's a calculation: corporation tax versus income tax and NICs, dividend taxation, what you need to draw versus what can stay in the company, and whether limited liability matters for your work. For some Mount Pellon businesses it saves thousands; for others it's pure extra paperwork.

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.