The Collector Wants Your Money!

Newsletter issue - September 07.

Tax demands are never welcome, but sometimes they come out of the blue. If you have received an unexpected tax demand, don't panic. The Taxman does get his calculations wrong, even in the most straightforward of cases, so please ask us to check that the amount demanded is correct.

Once you know the tax due is correct, you need to work out how and when you are going to pay it. Look carefully at the tax statement; it may be asking for the tax to be paid at some point in the future and to cover more than one tax year. Income tax and capital gains tax for 2006/07 will be due on 31 January 2008, with an on-account payment due on the same date for 2007/08. Where the tax demanded for 2006/07 was due to a one-off jump in your income, you can ask for the estimated tax payment for 2007/08 to be reduced, perhaps to nil.

Where you owe less than £2,000, the tax can be collected through your PAYE coding for 2008/09. This will spread the tax payment over a whole year, so will be far less painful. You can ring the Taxman and ask him to adjust your PAYE code number, or we can do that for you.

If the tax is due immediately, such as late paid PAYE or corporation tax, don't put-off dealing with the demand, as the consequences of not paying the Taxman can be pretty serious. If you are registered under the CIS to receive payments without deduction of tax, paying any tax late could mean you lose your gross payment status. That could seriously hit your cash flow.

When you receive a letter from the local Collector of Taxes (now called Recovery Office) you need to respond quickly, as these guys have a short fuse. If you really can't pay all the tax due at once you can negotiate for time to pay, but that will usually mean presenting a list of your assets and liabilities to prove you do not have the funds. If you ignore letters from the Collector you could soon find bailiffs on your doorstep ready to seize your goods, including your car.

The Taxman can also take you to court for non-payment of tax, either to the local Magistrates for relatively small debts or to the County Court. If you lose the case you could be made bankrupt.

What our clients say about us...

  • "Paul has provided accountancy services to my company for 2 years now. I can recommend Paul very highly; his skills as an accountant are highly detailed and professional and he is always available to provide advice. One aspect of the way Paul works that I greatly appreciate is a preference to meet face to face when there is a detailed conversation to be had. I personally find this more productive and is a benefit of working with a small accountancy firm that you wouldn't get with the large faceless providers."

    ALISTAIR FAIRWEATHER - PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGER, DELIVERING/RESCUING I.T. 7 BUSINESS CHANGE WITH BUDGETS UPTO £50M INC SUPPIER MANAGEMENT

  • "I couldn't ask for more from Paul as an Accountant. Paul has been accountant to Work Relief Charity Recruitment for just over a year now and is proving an invaluable asset. Accurate, knowledgeable, flexible with an emphasis on service delivery, I would recommend Paul's services to any organisation looking for an accounts professional."

    Neil Price - Managing Director at Work Relief Charity Recruitment

  • "Paul was a referral from a family member when I started my business 2 years ago. As this was the first time I had ever run my own company I was totally clueless over the financial side of matters and was worried that I may have made mistakes in any of my accounting. I needn't have worried as after enaging Paul for a set monthly fee he was always there on the end of the phone for all sorts of questions I had and no matter how trivial they were Paul gave me all the information I required and more and did an excellent and painless job at the end of my first year! Couldn't ask for any better to be honest. Just two words - hire him!!!"

    Lee Westrap MBCS - Director - Bulldog IT Services

Request a Callback
Please complete our form
to request a callback
Get a Fixed Quote

Competitive fixed quotes
for agreed services

Find out how to Make more, Keep more and Work less

Increase your profit and
reduce tax liabilities

Your Business Size?

Expert advice for your
business size

 

Marker

Booth & Co  |   The Hermitage  |   15a Shenfield Road  |   Brentwood  |   Essex  |   CM15 8AG        Telephone: 01277 224666    |   Email: info@boothandco.co.uk