A tax planner is essential for a business in firstly understanding what sort of tax needs to be paid depending on the situation and company structure, and secondly, to legally reduce the tax payment through government schemes and planning accordingly.
The UK tax system is notoriously complex, but the benefits of structuring your finances tax-efficiently can be huge. We can help you to do this while ensuring you are making the most of the available allowances, so you won’t pay any more tax than you need to.
Using your tax allowances
The Government gives you various tax allowances and reliefs each year – and making the most of them can save a lot of money. Tax planners can structure finances to ensure a company or an individual is making the most of their allowances, including those for:
- Income Tax
- Capital Gains Tax
- Dividend income
- Contributions into ISAs, pensions and other savings accounts
Tax Advisors Professional Status
There are various professional bodies that you will find tax advisers and accountants are a part of. Tax advisors UK should be a ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’ (CTA), which means that they will be member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and will have taken and passed their examinations. Qualified accountants will have Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA or FCCA), or Chartered Accountant (CA, ACA or FCA) in their title.
Indemnity Cover
Chartered accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers are required by the rules of their professional bodies to have professional indemnity insurance. It is important to clarify whether the tax advisor has this cover or not in order to protect oneself in the event of penalties and breaches.
Staying informed with tax legislation changes?
Tax legislation is constantly changing. That is why it is important that your adviser or accountant stay updated with all the changes.
Also, to retain their qualifications, tax advisers and accountants must adhere to ongoing training programmes enforced by their regulatory bodies, to ensure that they are staying aware and informed of the latest changes in legislation and the latest tax planning opportunities.
For Example, CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is the compulsory training a Chartered Tax Adviser is required to do each year in order to keep his qualifications. He or she must do a minimum of 90 hours training per year; broken down into at least 20 hours “structured” training – that is, attending seminars, lectures, etc, and 70 hours “unstructured” training (such as reading textbooks and technical articles)
What to look for in an accountant/tax adviser
- For tax advice, check that the firm has the expertise to provide the type of advice you are looking for
- If you are in business, look for a firm of an appropriate size and with other business clients of a similar size to your business. They are likely to understand the issues and problems you will face.
- Do you want them to have experience of advising clients in the same trade sector as your business?
- Do they provide all the services you require? If you need audit, investment or insolvency advice make sure that the accountant is authorised to undertake that work.
- Do they have a good reputation?
- Will they be acceptable to third parties e.g. finance providers, shareholders?
- What qualifications do they have? Are those qualifications appropriate for your particular needs? Do they have professional indemnity insurance?
- Would you be able to contact or meet them as often as you wanted?