Any Accountants In ?

[Egbert Nobacon]

My accountant is incommunicado at the moment, so thought I would ask ...

I have various long standing rental properties all with good equity.

If I were to remortgage one to release some equity and not reinvest the money in another property, how do the Revenue treat this ?

Do they count it as personal income and tax accordingly or are they just interested in Capital Gain when the property is disposed of, if ever ?

Thanks in advance chaps

[Eric Mc]

It's borrowing - a loan is never treated as Income for tax purposes. Indeed, depending on the purpose of the loan, youi may be able to claim tax relief on the interest.

[Egbert Nobacon]

Thanks Eric - that's what I thought, but its always worth checking!

[WD*]

Can I hi-jack the thread?

How much does an accountant charge on a monthly basis? Is it dependant on the amount of work they need to do, or is it a flat fee?

[Eric Mc]

Usually based on the amount of work they do. Most firms charge on an hourly basis - the highest qualified individuals being charged out at the highest rate. Four years ago I was being charged out at £120 an hour (wish I was being paid that back then).

A senior partner in a large firm would probably charge £500 per hour easily. Im medium sized firms about £300 per hour would be more likely. Even unqualified trainees will be £50 per hour or more.

One man bands (like I am now) can have a more flexible approach to charging and I usually now quote a fixed fee based on my estimation of the work involved. If it turns out that matters are more complex than I originally envisaged, I will increase my fee for the next year accordingly - notifying my client in advance of my intentions, of course.