OT accountants - how much per year/return/??

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Arfa Daily writes snip

I think the revenue rightly suspect builders are not fully accounting for cash payments for extension work where 20% VAT is applicable.

[Dave Liquorice]

Build your own from scratch, it really isn't difficult and as you have built it you will know how it works. A starting point would be to recreate the "Expenditure" and "Income" parts of your existing paper ledger as a couple of pages in a spreadsheet. Then add useful additional bits like VAT calculations on another page as required.

[Tim Lamb]

Oh well! Another attempt on the way:-)

I'm still on office '95 but that doesn't seem to be a huge issue for excel. I struggle with the simple things like creating enough space to enter legible column titles....

>

[Dave Liquorice]

I don't use excel but can't you just click and drag the divider mark in the row that has the column reference letter? I must admit to swearing a lot at excel the few times I have to use it, it's not very friendly.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Didn't know haircuts were an allowable expense for the self employed. Wonder if I can submit a retrospective claim?

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 14:45:38 on Sat, 26 Jan

2013, Arfa Daily remarked:

Since when were haircuts tax deductible?

[Dave Liquorice]

For a builder not, for a TV presenter...

It would have been the revenue looking for spending of income that didn't offically exist. ie spending the earnings from "cash jobs".

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Quite.

I'd say it unreasonable to expect a self employed type - like a builder - to keep such receipts anyway. Not that I've ever been given a receipt after having my hair cut. They're usually self employed too. ;-)

[Roland Perry]

In message , at

15:25:23 on Sat, 26 Jan 2013, Dave Liquorice remarked:

If barristers can't get their court clothes tax deductible, I'm not sure a TV presenter can argue their haircuts are.

Boggle. How did they even know he was paying for haircuts, without receipts?

[A.Lee]

They arent, YTC, they work out/estimate how much you spend a year, down to very small details, like haircuts, how much milk you have delivered a week etc, add it all up, then see if you are fiddling the books, as you seemed to have spent £15k this year, yet you only declared a £10k income.

[djc]

Italian authorities have been accused of resorting to police state-style tactics with the introduction of a new weapon to hunt down the nation's many tax dodgers.

The new procedure makes it possible to scrutinise any family's spending pattern, and compare this with what it says it earns.

[Man at B&Q]

messagenews: [e-mail]...

It does to the OP and that's who (and only who) the advice was aimed at. For sub-20K it's not worth paying an accountant if you have half a brain.

MBQ

[F]

They also have a good idea, or so they say, on how much a business of whatever ilk and whatever size should bring in each year. Lodge figures that vary from their norm and you're on the way to questions being asked.

[Steve Firth]

Hardly new. Every adult in Italy has to have a "Codice Fiscale". This is, in effect, a personal VAT number. Every time you make a significant purchase or employ a tradesman you must give your CF and this is recorded on the invoice.

This system has been in place for at least 12 years.

[The Medway Handyman]

Sparky mate of mine, who was on the fiddle, got a spin from HMRC.

They wanted details of how many Xmas/birthday presents he bought his grand kids, how much he spent on breakfast & a paper, how many pints a week he drank, what he had for lunch, did he eat sweets - every single penny he spent.

They then back calculate to see if you could do that on the income you declare.

Guilty until proven innocent with the tax man.

[tony sayer]

Someone I know had this happen after his useless accountant cocked something up. They went into the children?s piggy banks and investigated everything, absolutely everything, and in the end after some months of absolute grief for him and his wife they ....

Refunded him the grand total of 6 pence;!!!....

[A.Lee]

Yes. My window cleaner was dragged in to account for his income. They didnt believe he earned so little, his (true) excuse was he didnt need to earn much, as the house was paid for, his wife has a part time job, so all he needed were basic living expenses. This cut no ice with them, and they demanded £2000. In the end, he had to pay £1000, or go to Court. He paid, but was very bitter about it, and said he would be doing far more cash work now, and not declaring it. He later found out he was the lowest earning window cleaner in the region, and, he had used an accountant to prepare his return. The IR were suspicious, and thought he was avoiding tax, not believing that he was not able to do it himself, or use a computer (he doesnt).

[Dave Liquorice]

If they ever came knocking on my door I'd just fire up the accounts program I've been using since 1999 and print out the entire lot. That data is reconciled with CC and bank statements every month and the CC slips. I may well still have those statements and they might go back to =

1978 when I started work, though I have a feeling I did have a purge a few years ago and destroyed everything older than 8 years.

I could have a problem with where I spend the odd bit of cash I use (maybe =A320/month on average) but the source is recorded as ATM withdrawals.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I dunno how many haircuts I have in a year. And I'd say it very unreasonable for the ILR to expect anyone to remember this sort of thing accurately.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I did have a problem with them after my first few years as self employed where I'd done my own tax returns.

That's when I found my accountant. He took them to the cleaners, rather than the other way round...