Latest news from HCA – November 2015

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Latest news from HCA – November 2015

HMRC deadline for paper returns expired

The deadline for your paper returns to HMRC expired on the 31st October, so now all returns for the tax year 2014/15 have to be filed online.

We can of course assist with this requirement, however please do not leave your online filing until the last minute as it can sometime take longer than expected to obtain your online filing log in details from the Government Gateway.

 

Clothing – an allowable expense?

If you’re self-employed, your business will have various running costs. You can deduct some of these costs to work out your taxable profit as long as they’re allowable expenses.

You can claim allowable business expenses for:

  • uniforms
  • protective clothing needed for your work
  • costumes for actors or entertainers

You can’t claim for everyday clothing (even if you wear it for work).

If you would like to clarify your clothing position, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Supporting the Equine industry

Here at HCA we have expertise in supporting the equine industry with many stable yards and even an equestrian team member as our clients.

As well as helping with the bookkeeping and accounts, Chris in our IT support has a good working knowledge and experience with the Yardman and Frontrunner software systems.

This combination of experience and knowledge helps us to deliver integrated support to our clients in this sector

 

Value Added Tax (VAT) -  your returns

Last month, we spoke about the different VAT schemes available for your business to administer their VAT liability.

You usually submit a VAT Return to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) every quarter, but this can be different on agreement and in relation to a specific scheme. This period of time is known as your ‘accounting period.’

The VAT Return records things for the accounting period like:

  • your total sales and purchases
  • the amount of VAT you owe
  • the amount of VAT you can reclaim
  • what your VAT refund from HMRC is

It is important to note that you must submit a VAT Return even if you have no VAT to pay or reclaim.

However here are a couple of checks for your return before you hit the submit button!

  • Have all your bank accounts, credit cards and cash accounts been reconciled?
  • Have all invoices you were expecting been received for the period and have you issued all of your sales invoices?
  • Has VAT been applied to all your applicable Sales invoices
  • Scan down your Purchase invoice records and see if VAT is noted against those you would expect to include VAT and vice versa
  • Does the VAT amount due on your sales (Output tax - box 1) equate to 20% of your total value of net sales turnover (box 6)? unless of course there is a reason you do not charge VAT on all sales transactions
  • Have you included any EC sales?
  • If you are using the Flat Rate scheme, have you checked to ensure the rate has not changed

If you would like our expert help with your VAT return, then please contact us for a no obligation conversation.