Accountants in Preston Candover

New companies often have a long first accounting period, which can mean two corporation tax returns for one set of accounts. It's normal, but it's exactly the kind of thing that's cheaper to get right first time than to unpick.

The tax-free dividend allowance is down to £500, so almost any director taking dividends now pays some dividend tax — and needs a Self Assessment return to report it. The classic small-salary-plus-dividends strategy still works; it just needs actual planning rather than folklore.

UK residential property sales have their own regime: report and pay within 60 days of completion, separately from Self Assessment. Other gains report annually. Mixing up the two timetables is a common and expensive mistake.

If your last Self Assessment bill was over £1,000, HMRC usually asks for next year's tax in advance — half on 31 January, half on 31 July. It's the number-one cause of "why is my bill double?" calls, and it's manageable: if your income has dropped, the payments can be reduced with a claim.

Auto-enrolment applies from the first eligible employee: assess, enrol, contribute, declare. The Pensions Regulator does check, and the fines for ignoring it are out of proportion to how simple compliance actually is.

Every tax bill is predictable months in advance — which makes tax the most plannable cost a business has. A separate tax savings account, fed a fixed percentage of every sale, converts January from a crisis into a transfer.

HMRC runs nudge-letter campaigns to crypto holders based on exchange data. If there are undeclared gains in past years, a voluntary disclosure is dramatically cheaper than waiting for the letter — penalties are scaled to cooperation.

The expenses rule is "wholly and exclusively" for the trade — which covers more than most people claim (proportionate home-working costs, business mileage, software subscriptions) and less than some hope (client entertaining, everyday clothing). Knowing the line is where the savings live.