Category Archives: Accountant

Helping YOU keep your business on track

Accountant, Business structure, Cis, Construction Industry Scheme Cis, Self Assessment & Tax Returns, Self employed, Tax services, Taxation & Self Employment, UK Tax Self Assessment, Uncategorized, Vat returns, , ,

When it comes to keeping your business numbers in order, it’s often an afterthought – until you run out of cash in the bank.  Even if your bank balance is in the black how much thought do you give to reaching specific financial targets each month?

As a small business it’s often difficult to put time aside to focus on this when you’re so busy running and trying to keep all the balls in the air.  However, understanding what the numbers in your business are telling you can be an enormous help to growing a seriously profitable business. Look at it as making money and keeping it, rather than scraping by or always surprised when you get big bills to pay.  Financial challenges don’t go away if you ignore them – they just get bigger and scarier!

With my help to focus on what numbers you need to know, what you need to watch and what you need to take action on, you’ll find it will all get a lot easier.  You’ll know what to do to stay on track to that profitable future you had in mind when you started out in business

If you’d rather do anything than plod through your self-assessment forms or want to make sure your business tax demands don’t leave you open to penalties, you’re in exactly the right place.

Don’t wait until things get really tough!

RENTAL ACCOUNTS SERVICE –Don’t be a prize plum!

Accountant, Business owners, Entrepreneurs, Income & Investments, Landlords & Rental Income, Landlords & tenants, Professional services, Property Auctions, Property Investment portolios, Property magnets, Property owners, Rental accounts, Tax specialists, , , ,

Don’t be a prize plum

Most people would agree that the idea of becoming a property magnet can be an exciting time. Never has the rental market been so vibrant and lucrative. However, when you decide to rent your home, by your own standards even though you may have undertaken all the relevant checks, when you hand over the keys to your tenant you hope that they will look after your property just the way you have- and to be fair some tenants do.

But what happens when things go wrong, the rents stops being paid and there are untold damages to your property?

As a business the cost of an eviction for unpaid rent arrears can have catastrophic consequences on your personal finances and can lead to financial ruin if you are unable to ride it out, let alone mention the untold amounts of emotional stress it takes on your family, personal health and time it takes to repair the damage-

Let’s face it’s every Landlords worse nightmare but if it has gone wrong you don’t have to let it define you!

Calling all property magnets

Don’t be a prize plum!

So when you decide to step into the rental arena make sure you obtain the right advice from the outset and understand the responsibilities on both sides- don’t make the rules up as you go along because this can affect YOUR TAX!

There are specific rules for rental ins and outs and how to recover the unpaid rents when it comes to filing your personal self-assessment tax return to H M Revenue & Customs.

So, if you need some help with your rental portfolio and reclaiming and expenses give me a call to see if I can HELP and assist you getting YOUR LIFE back on track.

 

Care Planning consider this

Accountant, Business owners, Business structure, Care Benefits, Entrepreneurs, Mental Capacity Act, Paying for Care, Planning for Care, Professional services, Residential & Nursing Care, Tax specialists, , , , , ,

Care Planning Consider this:

How would you feel if after all those years of hard work making a great life for yourself and your family the court took control of your finances, if you, lost mental capacity simply because you don’t have the right documents in place?

Planning for your care is a worthwhile investment but when you are taking advice about Care Planning one of the most important questions to ask is  how to avoid sideways disinheritance the misdirection of assets.

Avoiding sideways disinheritance

Avoiding sideways disinheritance

Should you consider leaving your assets to your own family then did you know that, if your children divorce or their relationship breaks down or even if the remarry they can lose out.

There are safeguards that can be put in place but if you are not aware that they exist and plan accordingly the law can direct your assets to someone against your wishes and is something that thousands of people face every year.

Don’t allow that to happen to your children!

 

 

The impact of the living wage on our care homes

Accountant, Business structure, Commercial property, Financial forcast, Planning for Care, Profit and loss accounts, Uncategorized, , , ,

As the living wage comes into force care home owners will be faced with a huge challenge in how they manage the direct impact to which this will have on their business and profit and loss accounts.

Wages are one of the largest expenses for a Care home and with councils being forced to manage with less money from the government there will be a knock on effect over the next period of time.

I envisage 3 things changing:

  1. Care homes will be forced to look at ways to down size and maybe that will not be a bad option to consider to more boutique homes for the aging population. Its the advice I would be giving my client and sooner rather than later to get ahead of the curve.
  2. People will consider living together entering old age in one property  with a live in carer. All individuals responsible for jobs around the house which would help those avoid isolation and with a carer on side for as and when needed.
  3. and….more and more of the baby boomer generation will start to consider  having mum or dad live with them. There will be a cost to this both emotionally and financially.

If you choose to all live together and sell your main homes there is no Capital Gains Tax on the sale of your own home.

If you have mum or dad live with you there will be some considerations for you all to make especially making sure your home is safe especially if in later life they are diagnosed with dementia!

Think about that and the consequences involved

 

Run your business & focus on growth!!!

Accountant, Book kepping, Business structure, Commercial property, Corporation Tax, Income & Investments, Landlords & Rental Income, Landlords & tenants, Partnerships, Professional services, Self employed, Tax services, Tax specialists, Taxation & Self Employment, Vat returns, Who needs to file a Self Assessment Tax Return?, , , , ,

Getting your tax sorted so that you can run your business and focus on growth is what Virtual Tax UK specialise in.

If you’d rather do anything than plod through your self-assessment forms or want to make sure your business tax demands don’t leave you open to penalties, you’re in exactly the right place.

What you get when you come to Virtual Tax UK is:  

  • A thorough understanding of what is required so you don’t get fined.
  • A very personal service based on what you need, no matter how much or little support you need in getting your tax sorted out.
  • Hands on guidance to get you organized and make your accounts simpler to manage in future.
  • Claim what you are entitled to.

Whether you want some help with the basics of Self-Assessment or you have a business that needs to comply with the current legislation you’ll get just what you need. This leaves you free to get on with what you do best – running your business and focusing on growth.

You can be sure that you’ll get a bespoke service that will ensure your financial affairs are in order so that you sleep easy at night. You can find out more about how we can be of assistance by contacting us

Mb: 07801 287 213 or Email: info@virtualtaxuk.com or visit our Website: www virtualtaxuk.com

 

Happy New year from your flexible tax expert!

Helping to keep your business on track

Accountant, Book kepping

Helping to keep your business on track!

When it comes to keeping your business numbers in order, it’s often an afterthought – until you run out of cash in the bank.  Even if your bank balance is in the black how much thought do you give to reaching specific financial targets each month?

As a small business it’s often difficult to put time aside to focus on this when you’re so busy running to keep all the balls in the air.  However, understanding what the numbers in your business are telling you can be an enormous help to growing a seriously profitable company.

Look at it as making money and keeping it, rather than scraping by or always surprised when you get big bills to pay.  Financial challenges don’t go away if you ignore them – they just get bigger and scarier!

With our help to focus on what numbers you need to know, what you need to watch and what you need to take action on, you’ll find it will all get a lot easier.  You’ll know what to do to stay on track to that profitable future you had in mind when you started out in business.

Don’t wait until things get really tough – talk to Jane on 07801 287 213 for help or contact us by email for further information.

 

Landlords: Finding out that your tenants has a carer

Accountant, Landlords & Rental Income, Landlords & tenants, Legal documents, Mental Capacity Act, Rental accounts, , , , , , , ,

What can you do if you find out that your tenant has registered themselves disabled and not told you as the Landlord and you also find out that they have engaged the services of a carer and she is living in your property?

Well, what you need to know is when or should a carer move in to your property without your consent or knowledge which is quite possible in today’s society she/ he becomes what is known as “A Licence of tenancy only”, meaning that the carer is the Licensee of your tenant.

Whilst they may enjoy similar status in terms of living in your property they have different rights.

Also if may be worth checking that your tenant has aquired and errected any care aids in your property without your consent as not all properties lend themselves to such.

Whilst initially you may have no objection to a tenant who has engaged the services of a carer you might want to keep an eye on the situation and put a formal letter in place as to your wishes, especially if a third party has been given a key to your property without your written consent or knowledge.

While it remains one thing for a tenant to require the needs of a carer make it quite clear in a letter to your tenant that they are there only on the basis of Liscency of tenancy only and that they are only there to supply the services of care  to your tennant . You have no interest or intention of granting them a tenancy.

Basically in essence this means that should anything happen to your tenant the carer’s will have not  be able to live in your property.

As a lanlord you have a right to know who is living in your property and on that basis may wish to see the value in obtaining the  full details of the carer and their qualifications .

Care covers a multitude of plateforms and if the carer is a legitament carer they would have the following qualifications.

Person centered care, first aid, manual handling ( depending on the severity of the needs of tenant) qualified in administering medication, be able to read and write to a good standard.

Also make sure that you never take money from the carer.

Make sure you only pay what you HAVE to

Accountant, Book kepping, Corporation Tax, H M Revenue & Customs, Self Assessment & Tax Returns, Self employed, Tax filing dead lines, Taxation & Self Employment, UK Tax Self Assessment, Uncategorized, Vat returns, , , , ,

Even though the Self-Assessment form is supposed to make it easy for you to complete your personal self assessment tax return yourself all those boxes to complete can be daunting.

When it comes to your own personal tax return or those for your business such as corporation tax, VAT or the ins and outs of the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) all this paperwork can be a major headache and take over your life.

If it’s all getting a bit too much for you, but you’re not ready for a fully-fledged accountancy service, you’ll find Virtual Tax UK offers a personalized service that will take the pressure off.

Returns are about making the correct declaration to H M Revenue & Customs as it can turn out to be quite a costly exercise if you get it wrong.

Feel free to contact us for a chat about how we can help alleviate any problems allowing you to get on with the daily running of your business or email us on

info@virtualtaxuk.com

Tax Tips Renting out your own car space- taxable or non taxable?

Accountant, Book kepping, Business structure, H M Revenue & Customs, Legal documents, Professional services, Rental accounts, Self Assessment & Tax Returns, Self Assessment-uk, Self employed, Taxation & Self Employment, UK Tax Self Assessment, Uncategorized, Who needs to file a Self Assessment Tax Return?, , , , , , ,

TAX TIPs

How many of you who have rented out your own car park space knew the consequences?

Did you know that renting out your own car space and receiving income from that source is deemed as taxable income, even if that means that by doing so you have to rent a space yourself.

Renting out your own car park space on your own driveway means you are responsible for declaring that income on your own personal self assessment tax return when you file it to  H M Revenue and Customs. The entries should be made on the Land & Property pages

Remember to consider that should you enter into this type of arrangement make sure you prepare a contract and include a break clause in case the situation changes.

Considering leasing space.

Accountant, Business start ups and advice, Business structure, Self Assessment & Tax Returns, Self employed, Taxation & Self Employment, Who needs to file a Self Assessment Tax Return?, , ,

Here are some thought and considerations on what questions you maywish to ask before it’s too late.

Consider that they have in their lease writen in their terms and conditions that they are able to sub let before they are in breach of contract.

Read the small print

I wish I had read all the terms

For new businesses consider building in to your agreement a break clause after say 6 months.

This protects both parties as not all businesses fly straight away. Life has a terrible way of bringing about unexpected changes. One can always re negotiate.

Consider terms of payment for rent and requires agreement from both parties concerned. Make sure you obtain a receipt for rent paid if it is cash as it will be required by your accountant for your year end accounts. A petty cash receipt should be sufficient.

Is your rent for space inclusive or light, heat and rates?

Remember information is free, advice is paid for

If some of these questions startto ring a bell in your ear and you are thinking of starting a business and wish an appointment to see how I can help you and save you money, please contact me on 07801 287 213. or email me on infor@virtualtaxuk.com. Fees to structure your business apply.