Accountants in Westhay Lodge

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.

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.

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.

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.

If a return is late because HMRC asked for one you don't actually need, it can sometimes be withdrawn entirely — penalties included.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.

First-year traders around Westhay Lodge 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.

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.

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.