Someone Kick Me - Please!

[mind the gap]

Well, I reckon that the half of the £381 I paid my accountant to do my tax return was more than compensated by the £1500 he saved me by claiming for stuff I wouldn't have thought of.

[leaseholdanswers]

There is one thing that is missing on the HMRC website- when it gives you the amount due, they really should have a " Pay Now" button.

[mind the gap]

There is one thing that is missing on the HMRC website- when it gives you the amount due, they really should have a " Pay Now" button.

Or even better, a 'Let us pay you your refund now' button.

[leaseholdanswers]

Or even better, a 'Let us pay you your refund now' button.

Amen to that....

With Pay me Now get X nectar points or X % off, a free eye exam, or we send one illegal home

[Ericthelobster]

Well, I reckon that the half of the £381 I paid my accountant to do my tax return was more than compensated by the £1500 he saved me by claiming for stuff I wouldn't have thought of.

But is that stuff any different to what he would have claimed for you last year? ie, apart from keeping abreast of new rules and regulationss etc, if there's no significant changes to your situation year-on-year I wonder whether it's worth using an accountant for Year 1, and then just following the same rules for Years 2 and 3...

Personally I use an accountant to generate accounts for my lettings business; all he does is convert my Excel spreadsheet to a one-page set of accounts, which I hope gives me credibility with HMRC enough to avoid the aggravation of a 'rubber glove' probe from HMRC. I don't use him to complete the self assessment form though.

[mind the gap]

But is that stuff any different to what he would have claimed for you last year? ie, apart from keeping abreast of new rules and regulationss etc, if there's no significant changes to your situation year-on-year I wonder whether it's worth using an accountant for Year 1, and then just following the same rules for Years 2 and 3...

I definitely needed one this year as the tax year in question was pretty complicated for me for a number of reasons (three different sources of income and starting a new business). I could in theory construct my own next year, although as you say, having them signed off by an accountant does seem to keep HMRC off your back.