Michael Lansdell from Lansdell & Rose Chartered Accountants talks this month about sensible tax planning tips at this time of year.
Whilst the festive season is now in full swing, so unfortunately is the tax season. Ironically, a time of happiness and “coming together” with family and friends, falls at the same time as what can potentially be a time of stress, and of “parting”…with your savings, if your tax bill is unexpected. Have you finalised your tax for the 14/15 tax year? Are you taking the right action to minimise tax in 2016?
The views expressed in this article are specifically those of Lansdell & Rose Accountants.
The deadline is on the doorstep
The deadline for filing and paying your tax bill for the 14/15 tax year is just over six weeks away, so time is of the essence with tying up your tax.
The 31 January 2016 marks the final day for online tax return submissions, as well as for the payment of your tax liability, plus, the first “payment on account”.
- If your tax return is still outstanding make this your number one priority to organise. Your accountant won’t be able to finish the process without all the information from you, so make sure you are helping them to help you.
- If your tax return has been filed, then you will know your tax liability already. Make arrangements to pay this on the 31 January, or before, to avoid unnecessary interest payments and surcharges.
- If you keep up-to-date records from April 2015 to date, you may be able to reduce your payment-on-account, if you made less profit this year, keeping your cash in your own hands for longer.
Lansdell & Rose are specialist medical and dental accountants with a key focus on tax planning for healthcare professionals.
Contact Michael today for bespoke tax advice
Don’t leave 2016 to chance
January is often a month for planning, and for implementing new ideas.
It is a time of year that many doctors and dentists approach Lansdell & Rose to help with tax planning for the year ahead to ensure that their next tax bill can be kept to a minimum as well as their practice optimised for efficiency and profitability.
5 things to implement in Q1
If you don’t already have them in place, consider the following actions for Q1 (January to March) so you don’t leave 2016 to chance:
- A time-saving electronic “bookkeeping package”. This is the means of recording your income and expenses. Nowadays the best packages will link direct to your bank account, pulling-in valuable information to save you time, and give you up-to-date reports to make key business decisions.
- A method to report monthly or quarterly Key Performance Indicators. These are a handful of maybe 5 – 10 statistics that will help you to mange your business better, including keeping an eye on your future tax liabilities.
- A specialist team of professionals to help your business. Specialists who act for doctors and dentists will carry out the same transactions for other professionals just like you, and will have a benchmark as to whether your business is performing in line with industry averages. Seek bespoke advice from specialist accountants, financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors, business consultants and insurance brokers.
- A tax estimate for 15/16. Ensure you have an estimate of your tax bill for the 2015/2016 tax year (this is the tax year that will end in April 2016). If your tax bill is high then there will still be time to discuss last-minute tax savings ideas with an accountant, provided this is done in the first couple of months.
- A forecast for 16/17. A method to project your income and expenses from April 2016 to March 2017 will help with overall tax planning in 2016.
The key to keeping tax bills to a minimum is to get organised, seek professional help from experts and always plan ahead.
Seasonal Gift from Lansdell & Rose Accountants
FREE tax estimate and tax assessment for the 2015/2016 tax year.
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Read more tax saving tips from Michael
- 5 tax savvy tips to minimise tax
- How the new dividend rules affect you
- Buy-to-let investors face cuts in tax relief
- Maximise tax relief for CPD & Training
- Tax relief on Christmas gifts and parties