TAX & AUDIT

Every business owner needs a team of professionals in the background who provide continuous support and advice. That’s what M J Smith & Co Ltd are here to do. We offer fixed fees and this includes free email and phone support to help you achieve your goals.

Audit

A statutory audit is an audit that is required by the UK government and does not apply to all companies.

Who is exempt from an audit?

Charities

Any charity that falls below a gross income of £1,000,000 or less for accounting periods ending on or after 31 March 2015 (£500,000 or less for prior accounting periods), unless both their gross assets exceed £3.26m and their gross income exceeds £250,000), can choose to opt out of a full audit. Most are required to obtain an alternative assurance service, independent examination.

Companies

Companies that qualify as small companies under Companies Act 2006 are usually exempt from audit, unless they are members of a group or are charities and required to follow the charity audit thresholds.

The definition of a small company: a company is small if for both this year and last year it was not ineligible, and it met two out of three of the following criteria:

For periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016:

Turnover                <£10.2m

Total assets            <£5.1m

No of employees   <50

An audit can also be performed on companies below the above thresholds if the shareholder require it or its felt that an audit would give outside user more reliance on the  accounts, for example for bank borrowing.

Who can perform an audit?

Generally, an audit is performed by a qualified accounting firm who are registered to carry out statutory audits. The auditor’s goal is to make sure that the financial statements issued by a company are accurate and comply with FRS102.

Personal Tax Planning

With the tax regime being so complex and more emphasis being put on taxpayers’ individual responsibilities and with making tax digital everyone who is subject to taxation needs professional advice, if they are to optimise their tax position and ensure they meet all the compliance requirements.

Tax planning comes in all shapes and sizes from filing your tax return, capital gains tax advice, property ownership, buy to lets, dividend planning, inheritance tax planning , residency and the interrelation with business assets and employment, the individual now more than ever needs help. We provide personal tax planning services in Exeter to help you make informed financial decisions.

As part of the service we can advise on:

  • Preparing your Self Assessment Tax Return.
  • Calculating your total tax liability and advising on payment deadlines.
  • Minimising and deferring tax bills.
  • Capital gains tax planning.
  • Inheritance tax planning.
  • Property buy to let administration and planning.
  • Pension tax planning.
  • Residency and foreign income
  • Tax investigations.
  • Tax credits.
  • Year-end tax planning.
  • Tax wrappers such as ISA, VCT and EIS schemes.
  • Transferring personal allowance between spouses.

Retirement Strategies

Everyone hopes to continue the same living standards in retirement as they do in their working life.

Exit Strategies

If your in business then at some point you will need a way out, this it where an exit strategy is needed and needs to be planned for well in advance.

Pension Provision

This starts when you first start working and will continue right the way through your working life. New rules are constantly being introduced and its vital you obtain the best advice.

Savings and Investments

Are you making your money work for you? Are you using all your tax free allowances? Are your saving tax efficiently?

Life assurance and long-term care

Do you have sufficient life insurance to care for the ones you love? Do you have sufficient resources for long term care?

We can help you answer all these questions and recommend solutions tailored to your particular needs by putting you in touch with an Independent financial advisor.

Self Assessment

Self Assessment is a system HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses to collect Income tax.

Tax is usually deducted automatically from wages, pensions and savings. People and businesses with other income must report it in a Tax Return.

If you need to send one in HMRC will request you do so or if you have untaxed income you must let HMRC know and they will issue you with a Return to complete.

Completing a Tax Return for many is a daunting prospect.

Tax legislation is constantly changing and the ever increasing minefield needs to be navigated in order to pay the correct amount of Tax.

With the introduction of so many new taxes and rates it is more important than ever to get the right advice.

We can act as your agent, and deal directly with HMRC on your behalf, we can complete your Tax Return, submit it and deal with any queries HMRC have, on your behalf, completely taking the worry out of this daunting process.

As part of the process will will do a complete review to make sure you are paying the right amount of tax and claiming the correct reliefs you are entitled to as well as making sure it’s done in a timely manner and in time for HMRC’s strict deadlines.

We also offer insurance against any tax enquiry and this can be purchased at any time.

VAT

Value added tax is one of the most complex and onerous tax regimes imposed on business – so complex that many businesses often overpay or underpay VAT.

The ever widening scope of VAT, the constant stream of detailed changes to the regulations both within the UK and Europe and the ever growing demands of Customs and Excise call for a trained accountants eye to ensure that you do not fall foul of the regulations and do not pay the VAT man more than you need to!

We provide an efficient cost effective VAT service, which includes:

  • VAT registration
  • Advice on VAT planning and administration
  • The best  scheme to use
  • VAT reconciliations
  • Completing VAT returns
  • VAT planning to ensure you comply with the current legislation
  • Negotiating with Customs and Excise in disputes
  • Fee protection against VAT investigations or enquiries
  • Advising on international VAT

Fee Protection Service

At M J Smith & Co we can provide you with a Fee Protection Service to protect you from the costs that may arise as a result of a Tax or VAT Enquiry from HMRC.

An investigation could cost you money even if you’ve done nothing wrong and anyone can be selected: a business, a director or an individual tax payer.

The Fee Protection we can provide is an all-embracing Policy that provides you with the ultimate protection.

The Detail

The service covers up to the equivalent of £100,000 towards our professional fees resulting from an HMRC Enquiry.

Any compliance check started by HMRC regarding your compliance with:

  • Income Tax and/or Corporation Tax Self-Assessment
  • PAYE
  • National Insurance
  • VAT
  • IR35
  • Construction Industry
  • National Minimum Wage or Gift Aid Legislation and Regulations and;
  • Any consequent dispute with HMRC after the issue of an assessment, computation of liabilities, written decision, notice of VAT civil penalty or notice of underpayment of the National Minimum Wage.
  • Inheritance Tax enquiries
  • Child Tax Credit enquiries
  • A compliance check carried out under HMRC Code of Practice 8 (provided fraud is disproved).

Peace of Mind

Included as part of the Fee Protection Service is comprehensive access to the Employment Law, Health and Safety and HR expertise, all at no cost to you.

You’ll gain valuable access to highly experienced consultants who can provide you with their guidance and knowledge on a wide variety of subjects and issues.

Call us on 01392 875391

Email us at enquiries@mjsmith.co.uk

Or complete our contact form below to arrange a meeting:

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