Tax and accountancy,
handled properly.

PAYE has now been with us for more than 70 years. Centre I in East Kilbride was the first office in the UK dedicated to the collection of tax from employees direct from their respective employers under statutory obligation. These obligations are strict, with penalty charges to the employer for getting it wrong, or for failing to meet deadlines.

We can help by providing a complete payroll service to relieve employers of the stress and time-consuming elements, making sure their staff's payroll is not only meeting these statutory obligations and getting done right, but also getting done on time. We have a dedicated payroll team at our Leith office who can advise on all aspects of running a payroll scheme.

Employee Benefits

If you provide employees with benefits such as company cars and health insurance, be sure to watch out for the following:

• Sometimes seemingly unrelated expenditure, such as excessive staff entertaining, can be classified as a benefit.
• Benefits in kind must be declared to HMRC on specific forms which must be submitted on time to avoid penalties.

Employees: Make Sure You Only Pay What You Owe

The tax deducted from your salary is calculated by subtracting your annual tax-free allowance from your salary and applying the appropriate tax rate to the difference. Most payroll systems calculate the tax due accurately, but they all rely on the tax office to issue a correct code number. This is where mistakes can be made and your tax bill increased.

We provide a payslip calculator on our website so you can calculate how much of your gross pay you will keep after tax and National Insurance deductions.

Employers: Other Points of Interest

• Small businesses are able to pay their deductions quarterly rather than monthly. This can help with cash flow, especially for new ventures.
• Employers have an additional National Insurance liability based on salary levels paid to employees, paid to HMRC each month or quarter alongside employee deductions.

PAYE Codes

A PAYE code is made up of numbers and letters and includes personal allowances and any gross deductions. Providing you are not on a 'K' code, the higher the number in your tax code, the less tax you will pay. A few common errors to watch for:

• Employers are sometimes slow in sending details to the tax office when new employees start, which can delay the issue of a correct code number and result in excessive early tax deductions.
• Employees who change or cease using a company car will continue to be taxed based on last year's P11D Return information until the tax office is informed of the new details.
• The tax office may seek to recover unpaid tax from previous years by reducing your current code. These deductions should always be double-checked to avoid duplication.

For a lot of people, paying inheritance tax on a large slice of what they have accumulated over a lifetime may well be the most unappealing of all Crown debts. This is probably due to the fact that the two unavoidable certainties, death and taxes, will inevitably come together one day.

Unavoidable possibly, but definitely reducible. Here is a small list of helpful facts:

1. To work out the value of your estate, HMRC asks your executors to add up all your assets, including your home, savings and investments (even ISAs and other tax-free savings accounts), valuables such as jewellery, artwork and cars, certain life insurance policies, and the value of any debts owed to you when you die. Anything you leave to your spouse or civil partner is exempt. Gifts between spouses and civil partners are totally exempt for inheritance tax purposes.
2. HMRC also looks back to the previous seven years and adds the value of certain gifts you made to others during that period to your estate.
3. For inheritance tax purposes, all your assets are valued on the date you die or when you gave them away, not the date you bought or acquired them, or the date you included them in your will.
4. Executors can deduct the following from the value of your estate: certain exemptions (such as donations to national galleries and museums, and gifts to housing associations), charitable donations left in a will, costs of winding up your estate, and funeral costs.
5. Once the executors have established the value of your estate, HMRC deducts the nil-rate band (currently £325,000). This slice of the estate is taxed at zero. But if the value of the estate exceeds the nil-rate band, inheritance tax is payable at the flat rate of 40%.

Hopefully some of what we have pointed out will help you understand your own potential exposure to IHT, or that of your family. The good news is that inheritance tax is often referred to as the 'voluntary tax', being easily reducible with proper planning. Get in touch to find out how we can help.

Gillespie Tax Management Ltd offer three new and innovative online accountancy services, designed to give you greater visibility and control over your finances, whenever and wherever you need it.

Our online services are built around the same personal approach you expect from us in person, but with the convenience of digital access. Whether you need to check your tax position, view documents or communicate with your adviser, our online tools make it straightforward.

• Secure online access to your personal tax statement as prepared by HMRC.
• Direct communication with your named adviser through our secure client portal.
• Online document storage and submission for a faster, paperless service.

Get in touch to find out how our online services can work for you.

The window logo at both our office premises says 'Self Assessment Spoken Here', and indeed we have been completing fixed-fee tax returns for thousands of clients each and every year since the introduction of Self Assessment Legislation in 1996/97. Furthermore, we always calculate the tax before HMRC. It is our tax figures which the client pays.

This fixed-fee Self Assessment service includes:

• Streamlined information gathering for quick turnaround.
• S.A. Tax Return completion and online submission to HMRC.
• Tax Calculation summary to HMRC and client.
• Explanation and copy of final documentation to client.
• Continued back-up to ensure acknowledgement and agreement with HMRC.
• Continued online access to your own updated tax statement prepared by HMRC.
• Tax repayments calculated and claims pursued on behalf of our clients.
• Tax due dates and tax payments to HMRC advised and, if possible, adjusted to suit the client.
• Penalties avoided.

Starting a new business is an important undertaking for anyone doing it for the first time, which is why we simply just listen first, before we help with:

Step-by-Step Guidance

Getting started with the right type of business for you, whether that means completing all the necessary Limited Company and Partnership documentation, or registering as a sole trader or partnership.

Free Consultation

After you get started, we offer a free consultation to make sure you are on the right lines. You do not need to worry about overlooking any Companies House or HMRC requirements. Peace of mind for you, which only takes a few minutes but can save a fortune later.

Business Structure

Should you be a sole trader, partnership, Limited Company or even a Limited Liability Partnership? After listening to your circumstances we will talk you through which structure is best for you.

Notifying the Authorities

You need to let HMRC know within 3 months of commencing self-employment that you are in business. Failure to do so results in automatic fines. We will complete all the forms for this, set you up with National Insurance payments, and if necessary complete the VAT Registration forms for you.

Introductions

We can introduce you to local banks, solicitors and other professionals you may need assistance from as you get your business off the ground.

Some businesses do the housekeeping and business record maintenance themselves, believing that it saves money, sometimes at the expense of not getting on with the important job of running and growing the business.

In reality, professional bookkeeping can help you to reduce your year-end accountancy costs, make VAT inspections less of a worry, and also deal with any tax enquiries by making sure your bookkeeping properly reflects the business's transactions.

When we do the bookkeeping, we can provide you with proper management information to help you run the business. It also allows us to complete your VAT returns for you very easily, and provides total peace of mind.

Are you a VAT registered business? At Gillespies we recognise that one of the most valuable resources in any business is TIME. If you are a VAT registered business, maintaining proper accounting records for VAT purposes and completing accurate VAT returns can place considerable demands on your time, so let us help.

Gillespie can provide help and advice on initial VAT registration, as well as on cash accounting, annual accounting, retail and flat rate schemes, ensuring that you are registered for the particular VAT scheme most suitable for you. Once you are up and running, our VAT team can provide a quarterly service, ensuring that your VAT records are accurately maintained and that returns are completed and submitted within the strict time limits.

For more complex or serious VAT aspects, such as VAT inspections and appeals, we are fortunate to be able to call on the services of Jim Hughes, our Consultant VAT expert.

Jim has vast experience in VAT, having worked for many years as a VAT Inspector with HM Customs & Excise, and for even longer on the other side of the fence helping private clients avoid VAT pitfalls. He currently runs his 'VAT Peace of Mind' company from our Salamander Street office, answering online VAT queries for as little as £35.

Under the provision of the Companies Act 2006, all limited companies are required to submit annual documentation to Companies House within strict time limits. The penalties for failing to comply within these time limits are daunting and can escalate to levels which can threaten the company's existence.

Gillespies can help you avoid this stress, and assist with the submission of all your Companies House documents within the appropriate time frame. The Gillespie Tax Management Ltd provides a complete Company Secretarial service including:

• Company formations
• Advice on how to keep records
• Preparation of all documents related to company business
• Preparation of the Annual Accounts and filing of Statutory Returns

Last, but not least, we offer a free mid-year strategy consultation to discuss the best tactics to apply PAYE, Dividends, Pensions and Company Capital Expenditure.

This Corporate tax planning, apart from being free, offers the small Company Director and shareholder peace of mind and assurance that they have minimised their Corporate Tax liability, maximised their accumulative tax rebates, tax losses and deferment options, and met their fundamental PAYE responsibilities without overpaying Income Tax or Employer National Insurance.