Do i need a Tax Advisor / Accountant?

Do i need a Tax Advisor / Accountant?

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Discussion

GT03ROB

13,404 posts

223 months

Thursday 9th November 2017
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Eric Mc said:
If that is the only letter they wrote then they were in the wrong and you had very good grounds for an appeal.

It's not unusual for HMRC to write a letter to someone saying they don't have to submit a return and then , a coupole of weeks later, write another letter saying they do.

Give me a bell if you want any further advice on this because it could be HMRC were acting above their powers here.

YHM
Eric, thank you for the kind offer, HMRC did back down after I responded to them. In recent years I've found they seem to try it on a fair bit in terms of fines & penalties, then back off when you send them a reasonable response. Some would say they adopt bullying tactics.

limpsfield

5,896 posts

255 months

Thursday 9th November 2017
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To get back to the OPs question.

Yes, get a professional to do it. I have submitted a tax return for the last 28 years and it should only cost a couple of hundred quid assuming you are pretty standard PAYE.

Peace of mind and all that.

DoubleSix

11,743 posts

178 months

Thursday 9th November 2017
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Or money for old rope...

A tax return should not be beyond the ability of most 100k+ earners!

Obviously some people’s affairs are complex and well worth the spend on an accountant (i fell into this category for a period). However, if you are maybe getting caught up in the system for reasons of earnings above 100k or perhaps a single buy to let then it’s not hard to put numbers in boxes online.

Of course if you are earning between 100k and 123k you should probably be looking at the bigger picture anyway and perhaps kill two birds with one stone via pension contributions or salary sacrifice...

Eric Mc

122,292 posts

267 months

Thursday 9th November 2017
quotequote all
DoubleSix said:
Or money for old rope...

A tax return should not be beyond the ability of most 100k+ earners!

Obviously some people’s affairs are complex and well worth the spend on an accountant (i fell into this category for a period). However, if you are maybe getting caught up in the system for reasons of earnings above 100k or perhaps a single buy to let then it’s not hard to put numbers in boxes online.

Of course if you are earning between 100k and 123k you should probably be looking at the bigger picture anyway and perhaps kill two birds with one stone via pension contributions or salary sacrifice...
It shouldn't - but it often is - as the examples above show. Trying to obtain Advice from HMRC is a minefield and fraught with errors.

nick s

Original Poster:

1,371 posts

219 months

Monday 13th November 2017
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
DoubleSix said:
Or money for old rope...

A tax return should not be beyond the ability of most 100k+ earners!

Obviously some people’s affairs are complex and well worth the spend on an accountant (i fell into this category for a period). However, if you are maybe getting caught up in the system for reasons of earnings above 100k or perhaps a single buy to let then it’s not hard to put numbers in boxes online.

Of course if you are earning between 100k and 123k you should probably be looking at the bigger picture anyway and perhaps kill two birds with one stone via pension contributions or salary sacrifice...
It shouldn't - but it often is - as the examples above show. Trying to obtain Advice from HMRC is a minefield and fraught with errors.
It's not that it's beyond my ability. It's that i wonder if there are things i could be claiming for, such as working form home and other expenses, that could offset a potential bill.... (which it appears i have).

See this is where it gets more confusing. I'm currently paying back tax in this years tax code, that i apparently owe form last year. So how can my self assessment now tell me i owe even more? It doesn't add up. Surely HMRC would have already calculated this through my PAYE?