What's the point?

[crystaltash]

Just done my tax return for 09/10 and got a huge shock at the amount of tax I have to pay. What on earth is the point of busting ur ass and making a good profit, only for the taxman to take half of it off u again! Soul destroying doesn't even touch it.

 

[Ruth Mills]

Maybe a good accountant could help you? As there may be expenses and entitlements you can claim that a good accountant could advise you of?

Let's hope the tax situation doesn't get much worse after the Emergency Budget in a week or so!!!

 

[kimi1101]

Just wanna say if you did it yourself, you should get an accountant. i know someone who did her own the firrt year and then got an accountant and saved loads. they know about things that are tax deductable so your bill may be lower. also not sure if u do this but put away more than enough each month, so when ur bill comes you wil have enough plus hopefully a bit extra. good luck.
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[Coconuts]

An accountant is a must, the tax man owes us money this year
Do you have any friends that could recommend one for you?

 

[jotommo]

i have an accountant and she gets everything she can knocked off my bill... well worth the money x
also the trick is to save 20% of what you earn each week for your tax bill xx

 

[spoilt]

an accountant will save you loads. did u put all your training and stock costs through . uniforms shoes hair etc you may be able to tell them you made a mistake . if you did do it yourself.... xx not sure but just a thought..

 

[jotommo]

oh yes forgot to mention i just got a nice tax refund coz my accountant is fantastic lol xx

 

[crystaltash]

Thanks guys. How do I go about shopping around for an accountant? Do I just phone them up and ask how much they charge for tax returns and to do PAYE?

 

[Velveteen]

I never do my own tax returns.
If I did, I'd end up bankrupt *LOL*
A chartered accountant always does it and always finds things that I've missed. And the money I pay him to do this is a tax deduction as it's a business expense.

 

[TheBack&Beyond]

Just done my tax return for 09/10 and got a huge shock at the amount of tax I have to pay. What on earth is the point of busting ur ass and making a good profit, only for the taxman to take half of it off u again! Soul destroying doesn't even touch it.

Yeah - an accountant will help you . I'm sure I've said it before - but the point of working for yourself is that you're not working for someone else!!

Even today after a setback - I'm resolute to making it work again. "Head down and carry on"!

 

[jes]

Just be aware, when using an acountant, the tax he saves you is only a percentage of the extra expenses he finds, so, if he charges £500 he's got to find, around, £2500 in expenses (that you missed) before he pays for himself!

Is this your first tax return? If so you're paying tax for the past year and then same amount again, in advance, for the 2010/11 year (effectively double). However next year will be cheaper, because you'll have money on account

 

[shedunlop]

I agree with everyone else, an accountant will help you a lot, I wouldn't be without mine, she is amazing!

 

[Zo Zo]

I have to be honest and say my accountant didn't save me any money because I had made it my business to know everything I could claim for. And again, to be honest, once you've used an accountant and they have pointed out what you can claim for, the following year you will already know, and may not learn anything new or save any extra money. I used an accountant every year until the last year when I decided to do it myself and I found mistakes in what she had done :irked:

I totally agree with what someone else said, it is a very good idea to set aside a percentage of your earnings each week to cover your tax.

I have had some horrendous tax bills but at the end of the day, I think it's right and proper that we pay our taxes and there are so many people out there that think if you're self employed you can get away with it. Erm... no! We self-employed still have to pay our tax. If we were employed and paye we wouldn't complain half so much because we would focus more on our take home pay as our income.

One final point and I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious - there is every point in us busting out ars*s to make money to give it to the tax man because what's the alternative?? Be lazy and good for nothing? I would rather have the income and pay the tax than not have the income in the first place....

 

[foxyemm]

Couldn’t agree with you more Zo Zo, we could all just sit at home watching Jeremy Vile and aspiring to be on the programme one day, the alternative is to work our bu%ts off and earn some money for the better things in life.

Seriously always try to keep your records in ship shape, put some money aside (about 20-25%, maybe get a little interest on it) and get yourself a decent account, it is normally best to have an account that has been recommended to you and that someone has been with for sometime.

 

[cirrusbeauty]

there is no way of avoiding tax wether you are self employed or employed! i put 25% of my profit away weekly so its ready and waiting to pay my bill it doesnt seem so bad that way! x