The Tax Burden

March 16, 2015 by Andy Crow

The Tax Burden

So, we all submitted our tax returns by 31st January and it all went smoothly with no last minute panic. Wrong!! So what should we all be doing this year that is different to make sure that we make life easier for ourselves?

Tips from the experts suggest:

• Keep all your records and make sure you have a good filing system
• Do the books regularly, not once year when you dive into that old shoe box
• Invest in new cloud accounting software such as Xero -- it’s a lot cheaper than you think with no heavy install and can be accessed remotely by yourself and a professional bookkeeper/accountant
• Speak to your accountant, if you need one, with plenty of time to spare, and not in January, when, guess what, they have no time – make sure you are claiming all your allowances
• Think about outsourcing your bookkeeping – if you’re doing it yourself, it’s time that could better spent and if you have one in-house it may be relatively expensive.
• File your tax early and do not leave it until the last minute. You never know, you might be due a rebate!

The end of tax year (April 5th and it’s a Sunday) is looming and maybe pensions and savings are the last thing on your mind. But, make sure you are taking full advantage of any tax efficiencies.

And finally if you cant sleep at night read the following piece of trivia:

Do you know why the tax year ends April 5th? New Year always fell on March 25th but in 1752 we switched over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and lost 11 days! The government didn’t want to lose out 11 days of revenue and thus made the end the tax year April 4th. An additional day was added in 1800 to take into account a number of skipped leap years and thus the date was shifted to April 5th and hasn’t been changed since – that will keep the dinner party guests entertained!

Chorus Business Advisers can help you make the right choice for your business. Please call 0845 8671263 or email info@chorusadvisers.co.uk for more info.