Do i need a Tax Advisor / Accountant?

[nick s]

Hi All, So as ridiculous as this seems as a place to ask, i'm sure i'll get some decent answers on here for this!

I'm in a fortunate enough position that for last tax year 2016/2017, i went over the threshold for employed individuals to have to complete a self assessment tax return.

I had a go at filling it in myself, but it dawned on me that i don't know any of the specifics or what sort of things i could potentially claim for. (I'm in a sales role and do a lot of traveling abroad, working from home etc).

So i'm wondering if it's worth at this stage, me procuring the services of an accountant to assist with this? I know this is the route that the self-employed take. But can they be of any assistance to someone filing a tax return based on one source of income in full time employment?

If it further cements the case, this tax year i'm projected to double last years earnings again, and am now on all sorts of funky emergency K1 & M tax codes. (I say this in case it changes things and may be worth getting someone in to look at the whole picture).

Thanks in advance!

[nick s]

GR_TVR said:

FreeLitres said:

Erm, do you mean you went over the 40% tax threshold?

If you are in a regular PAYE job, you don't need to do a tax return unless you have incomes from other sources as far as I know.

Over £100k requires self assessment, AFAIK.

Yes, correct. Over 100k a year and you have to file a self-assessment.

[nick s]

GR_TVR said:

The gov.uk website states that:

You’ll need to send a tax return if, in the last tax year:
your taxable income was over £100,000

https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/who...

Whether this is enforced or well known is a question for another day!

Anyway - I think we're digressing from the OP's question so I'll leave the advice to others!

It is indeed enforced! I'm not doing it by choice. HMRC have written to me telling me so.

Edited by nick s on Wednesday 8th November 09:25

[nick s]

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?