HMRC


It’s incredibly rare for anyone to get excited when a brown envelope from HMRC lands on their door mat. Even those of us who deal with them every day have a similar sinking feeling when we see one!

There are some things that you can do to limit the risk of unwanted attention from HMRC though, and that’s a large part of what we do.

We’re by your side, on your side, working with you to make sure that you’re kept off HMRC’s radar wherever possible, to minimise the chances of those unwelcome letters arriving.

There are some basic steps that we’d always recommend:

  • Don’t miss filing deadlines.
  • Don’t let payment due dates pass without making payment or contacting HMRC to arrange a payment schedule if you can’t pay in full.
  • Operate separate bank accounts for your business and personal affairs, even if you’re a sole trader.
  • Keep your bookkeeping records up to date and keep them for the required full six tax years after the end of the period to which they relate. HMRC won’t necessarily want to see the originals, so usually electronic copies are fine.
  • Be sure you can substantiate all claims and reliefs that you might apply for.

This section of our Info Centre covers all sorts of aspects of HMRC contact and information, from fee protection and why we feel it’s essential, through to making your tax payments and HMRC announcements. Please be sure to check back often as there are always changes and tweaks to be aware of.

If you’re unsure or uncertain of anything to do with your tax affairs, whether personal or business related, please don’t hold back. Get in touch with us, or another advisor, but please don’t ignore any worries you might have.

In our long experience of helping clients deal with their taxes and liaising with HMRC on their behalf, it’s always been better to get issues resolved than to hope they miraculously go away. They rarely do and can often get worse before getting better!

Our FREE Fee Protection Renews…

Our passion is to help clients get, and keep, the most from their hard work, in as many ways as possible. With that in mind, we include the cost of our FREE Fee Protection Scheme in our standard fees.

There are no extra amounts to pay during the year, it’s all rolled in together.

Why we don’t advocate Aggressive Tax Schemes

Aggressive Tax Schemes are the type you hear about in the news. They are the ones that high profile, high earners use to avoid paying tax on their incomes, for example Gary Linekar, Philip Schofield, Gary Barlow and David Beckham.

Or are they?

Fake HMRC Letters – how to spot them and what to do

The number of fake HMRC letters circulating is increasing, and it’s important that you’re aware of them, and can protect both yourself and your business.

What is HMRC Connect?

HMRC Connect is a sophisticated software solution that has been in use since 2017. Its goal is to make the recovery of unpaid tax easier for HMRC.

Recently, Connect has become more powerful and integrated than ever, and cross checking is completed in seconds.

Escaping the Self Assessment System

Once you’re in the HMRC Tax Return system, it can be very hard to escape. You certainly can’t rely on being able to exit on your own terms!

There are some circumstances that you may think would excuse you from the annual task of submitting a Tax Return, but it’s sadly not that simple.

Tax Rates 2023/24

We’ve listed below the latest tax rates and allowances as announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, or before.

Related News Items

Why not take a look at these sections too, as there is some overlap between our categories and we’d hate you to miss out!

Personal Tax

Corporation Tax

Glossary

Each of our clients receives regular updates that keep them aware of changes and suggestions; if you’d like to receive those too, just click on the button below, add your details and we’ll do the rest!

Can I just say we are so pleased that we have moved to Baranov Associates. As we discussed when you visited, we had to find a way to take the stress out of all of the financials and you’re doing that for us! We can see how to use Xero more efficiently and so with us being as on top of it as we can be and with you and Liz we feel a lot more confident about our business being in good shape.


Mrs S James, Sandbanks Capital Partners Limited

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