Yes I know it’s February but January disappears in the whirl of personal tax so February always feels more like the new year to me.
I was particularly busy in late January. Those of you who read my January blog www.clarkhearsey.co.uk/montegobay/ will know that I was getting more than a little excited about the prospect of going on holiday with all the surcharges for late information. A client just back from Tenerife says it is nice and warm there (especially attractive as I write this on a grey day with snow forecast before the weekend).
The surcharge will rise in respect of 2017 returns. £100 plus VAT if the information isn’t received by the end of November 2017 and a further £100 plus VAT if it isn’t received by Christmas 2017. For straightforward personal tax returns that could be more than doubling the cost.
I’m so confident that a good number of clients will still end up paying these surcharges that I will be seeing Helen from Lincolnshire Travel Club shortly to book my February 2018 holiday and that will, I think, be to the Caribbean. Thanks people, you know who you are!
February and March are a quiet time in the world of personal tax and enable me to catch up on admin and marketing. I’ve lots of client packs made up ready to go out. On a nice day I will have a walk round the industrial estate and draw up a list of potential clients to receive packs.
If you, or someone you know, is looking for an accountant then please do request some literature. Whilst we are happy to offer free introductory meetings sometimes it is nice to have a bit of information in advance so you know what questions you want to ask.
In the office I will be reviewing the files of all our clients and making sure they have paid their tax liabilities or received their repayments. The 2010 tax returns can now be destroyed so they will be going in the confidential waste. The thinning of the files is usually followed by a re-shuffle of the filing cabinets and relabelling of the drawers. I’m planning to sort the fridge magnet collection too. I’ve a desire (the accountant in me) to do a country shape and position the magnets in the right places. It isn’t going to be easy though as it means a rather short, squat Britain, or Scotland taken off and put to the side – that’s devolvement for you.
The Continuing Professional Development lecture season kicks off in February and on Monday Steve and I attended a VAT lecture which was actually very well delivered and raised some interesting points. One of the highlights was on barter. I think Steve and I will put together a little piece on this subject but in the meantime you can read what HMRC have to say on the subject here: www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-part-exchanges-barters-and-set-offs
Now, go and get yourself a nice file and label it 2017 tax return and start collecting together the bits I will need…
Thank you (or no, not thank you, you won’t be paying for my holiday if you are organised!)
Vicki
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