Guides

Understanding Income Tax and National Insurance

Income tax is one of the simplest taxes to understand, but many of us may not have been aware of…

Understanding how your personal tax liability is calculated

The first time you get your personal tax return calculation it might be a little bit confusing. The way that…

Why use accounting software?

Why would you want to use accounting software? Why wouldn’t you just let an accountant do all the work for…

Why set up a limited company?

This is the first part in a series of articles I am writing on running a company as these are…

When You Don’t Need A Tax Return

In an earlier blog I wrote about tax returns giving examples of who might need to complete a tax return.…

When is my tax bill due?

If you are required to submit a self-assessment tax return, your bill for the year you are submitting becomes due…

What is self-employment?

It might seem like there is quite an obvious answer to this, but there are nuances to this question that…

What is my tax code?

Everyone will have a tax code but not many people will understand what it means or what it is used…

What happens when I enter the higher tax bracket?

Entering the higher tax bracket (total income over £50,270 for the 2022/23 tax year) could be a sign of a…

Tax Returns for English as Second Language Teachers

One of my oldest friends, Emma, has started teaching English as a second language to online students. She has a…

Self-assessment tax returns – payments on account

When you submit your personal self-assessment tax return, you may be asked by HMRC to make payments on account. This…

Property rental basics

If you’re renting out a property, then this is a taxable activity, and you need to complete an annual self-assessment…

An overview of the New State Pension

Note: This blog is specifically related to the New State Pension which is for men born on or after 6…

How to take money out of a limited company

There are a few ways to take money out of a limited company, which all have different tax implications. I…

How to pay your personal tax bill

The end of January marks both the deadline for filing your personal tax return as well as the expected payment…

How to pay your Corporation Tax bill

Any company that makes a trading profit will need to pay Corporation Tax. The current rate is 19% of profits…

How to close a company

It is a sad fact that many businesses fail in their first year and end up closing. Sometimes companies close…

Do I need an accountant?

When speaking to a friend and prospective client earlier this year, they asked me this question. I thought it was…

Do I Need A Tax Return?

The UK tax year ended last month and HMRC may have contacted you to request that you complete a self-assessment…

Compliance Duties as a Company Director

This blog post follows on from one I wrote earlier this year around why you might want to start a…

Claim back costs when working from home

Many of us will be working from home at the moment. This will incur extra expense, such as lighting and…

Benefits and support available in the UK: Support for those on low incomes

To follow on from my post about benefits available for families earlier this year, I thought I would write about…

An overview of Child Benefit

Note: Values in this post were updated in 2024. Child benefit is available to any parent, but if you earn…

Accounting issues for psychologists

A significant number of our clients are psychologists running their own practice, so I thought it would be useful to…

What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and will it affect me?

Note: this post was last updated on 7th March 2025 HMRC have been working on their Making Tax Digital (MTD)…

What to do when you become self-employed

People can become self-employed for many reasons. Sometimes it is a long-term career plan that they have accomplished, sometimes it…

How to pay your PAYE bill

If you run a PAYE payroll within your company, you will need to deduct any National Insurance (NI) contributions made…

Understanding National Insurance

National Insurance is collected by HMRC to provide state support for the sick, the unemployed and the retired. One of…

How to get proof of your income

Sometimes it may be necessary to prove your earnings. The most common reasons for this will be applying for a…

Benefits and support available in the UK: Support for families

Updated reflecting the latest UK government support available to families as of May 2025. Government Support for Families in…

Accounting issues for driving instructors

Where we have many clients in one sector, I’ve tried to write blogs tailored to their specific situation. If you’re…

Things that a director should know

Starting up a limited company is an exciting time – it’s a big step for you and your business. It…