Andrew Ellis Is Top Rated In The UK

We’re proud to announce that ​Andrew Ellis has been named as a UK Top Rated Accountant! He has received this commendation thanks to the outstanding reviews written by ​his clients​ on VouchedFor.co.uk, the review site for professionals.

What does this mean?  Well aside from being a ringing endorsement that​ he​ is among the most respected in the business,​ Andrew ​was featured in a guide to the UK’s Top Rated Professionals which was distributed in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper on the 29th of March.

We had a little chat to the ​man himself​ who was pretty pleased as you can imagine!

Andrew ​said: “Being a Top Rated accountant means a great deal – there are thousands of accountants in the UK so to be recognised as one of the most well reviewed is a real achievement.  What makes it even more special is that I’ve been selected as a result of support from my clients.  It means a lot that they’ve gone out of their way to help me to get this award and I’d like to thank them all.”

Choosing a great accountant is vitally important but it can be difficult to know who to trust. Client reviews are a powerful resource when it comes to identifying the right person so we’re delighted that ​Andrew​’s reviews are now easy to find on VouchedFor.co.uk.

Andrew​ appeared in the guide in The Sunday Telegraph on March 29th. You can also read all his​ great client reviews on ​his​ VouchedFor profile! 

Want To Grow Your Business Even In Difficult Times?

We want to help local businesses, ensuring that they don’t just survive but actually prosper during these tough economic times; helping them to attract new customers and get more business from existing customers.

But where can people go to get decent advice that will really make a difference to their business without it costing them a small fortune?

We firmly believe the answer is the Business Growth System. This is not just any system but one that has been developed in the U.K. over the last 15 years and has been responsible for generating tens of millions of pounds in additional business in over 250 different industries and 46 countries. It is very easy to use and you can easily produce powerful and effective marketing that will get your telephone ringing and more people coming to your business.

The more we can help you grow your business the more value we can add by improving your profitability and the more opportunities we have to save you tax.

All our clients have FREE access to the Business Growth System. So if you would like to get FREE access, then all you need to do is to contact us and find out how you can register and benefit from this fantastic system.

Budget Threat For Small Businesses! We Launch Our FREE “7 Point Business Survival Action Plan”

It's official.  The business community is facing a crisis.

The budget has made one thing clear for all small and medium-sized businesses - it's time for every business to take action to ensure their own survival and prosperity.  It's a worrying future for many businesses, so we have decided to take an unprecedented step to help their clients and the local business community through the tough economic times ahead.

Following the budget we have created a '7 Point Business Survival Action Plan' which details the key actions any business must take to not only survive, but to prosper in this 'new ecomony'.

Andrew Ellis, proprietor of Axel Chartered Accountants comments, "There is no doubt we are still in an economic crisis and that can either be a threat or an opportunity for any business.  We are determined that all our clients and the local business community not only survive, but take action to make it an opportunity; that's why we've taken this step to create a simple and easy-to-implement Business Survival Action Plan that will deliver real results as long as the business owner takes decisive action."

The '7 Point Business Survival Action Plan' is available for free to any business by calling us on 01565 755255.

Compulsory Online Filing of VAT Returns – Coming Soon!

As of 1^st April 2012, it will become a legal requirement for all VAT registered businesses to submit their VAT Returns online.  Businesses will also have to pay any VAT due electronically as of this date too. 

If you currently use a commercial software package to prepare your VAT Returns, this may have already been developed to submit your VAT Return directly to HMRC; you should confirm that this is the case with your software provider.

For those businesses that don’t use commercial packages to prepare their VAT Returns and calculations, you can submit your Return using HMRC’s website – www.hmrc.gov.uk.  You will have to register as a user if you have not already done so, and once you have an account set up you should activate the option to use the VAT section of their website.  You’ll need various pieces of information such as your VAT registration number, and the date you became VAT registered – you may need to dig out your VAT certificate!

Online filing of VAT Returns will not be new for a lot of businesses; it became compulsory for businesses with a turnover of over £100,000 to file their VAT Returns electronically as of 1^st April 2010, and it was also compulsory for any newly VAT registered businesses from this date too, no matter what their turnover.

For further advice regarding VAT, or filing your Returns electronically, please contact Axel on 01565 755255, or email us at blog@axel.co.uk.

HMRC Tax Campaigns – Will You Be Targeted?

Following on from the success of the Plumbers Tax Safe Plan (PTSP) earlier this year, HMRC have announced that they will now be targeting electricians in a similar scheme.

The Tax Safe Plans give businesses and individuals the chance to get their tax affairs up to date and in order, and give HMRC the chance to reclaim any unpaid tax without opening enquiries.

As at 24^th October 2011, HMRC had received almost £2,000,000 via the PTSP with more tax expected to be paid, so this is proving to be a fruitful campaign. 

The Plumbers Tax Safe Plan ended a few months ago, and now electricians are next on HMRC’s target list.

For those that do take part in the schemes, they will benefit from reduced penalties and will be looked upon much more favourably by HMRC – which is definitely a good thing!

Although the thought of paying historic taxes may be unappealing for some, if you do have any unpaid tax you should take advantage of the schemes immediately – now that the Plumbers’ scheme has closed, HMRC have continued to target those in the plumbing trade who did not choose to come forward, and opened enquiries into their affairs.  They have even made a number of arrests.

If HMRC find any unpaid tax, not only will this tax have to be paid, but interest may be charged, as well as penalties being issued – HMRC have the powers to issue penalties of up to 100% of their lost revenue if they find the errors and you haven’t disclosed them first. 

It’s not only those working in trades that are being targeted by HMRC; in the past they have ran a similar scheme for those in the medical profession, and currently there is a focus on tutors and coaches.  They have also announced that e-traders and restaurants will be targeted. 

Don’t wait for HMRC to approach you!  If you think the Electricians Tax Safe Plan could help you, or you are an e-trader that may not be paying the correct taxes, contact Axel on 01565 755255 or email us at blog@axel.co.uk.

Pensions - Are You Ready?

In recent times, the Government has become concerned that people are not saving enough for their retirement, so changes are being made to the pension system.

Shortly, employers will be required to automatically enrol eligible job holders into a qualifying workplace pension, and make minimum contributions into it.

Don’t be put off by the jargon!  Below we will explain how this will affect employers.

What is an eligible job holder?

An eligible job holder is a job holder aged at least 22 years old, who hasn’t reached State Pension age, and earns more than £7,475 per annum.  These job holders must be automatically enrolled into the employer’s workplace pension scheme.

Job holders between 16 and 22 who are earning more than £7,475, or any employee earning below £7,475 can opt in to the employer’s workplace pension if they wish.

What is a qualifying workplace pension?

Employers can choose the pension scheme (or schemes) they want to use – including their current pension scheme if one is already set up – providing it meets certain quality criteria. 

When will I be affected?

Changes are planned to start from 2012, and will be phased in, starting with large employers, then medium, and then small.  To help employers adjust to these changes, the employer contribution levels are also to be phased in, starting at one per cent, then rising to two per cent, and finally reaching three per cent.

Employers with less than 50 employees will be phased in as of August 2014.

The Pensions Regulator plans to write to employers around 12 months in advance of theirs automatic enrolment start date.

We recommend that you speak to an independent financial advisor before making any decisions regarding pensions.  Please feel free to contact Axel on 01565 755255 or via email at blog@axel.co.uk should you require any further information.

The figures stated on this page are subject to pending legislation.

Mileage Allowances – Are You Reclaiming VAT Correctly?

Employees and directors of a business can be reimbursed for the business miles they travel in each tax year.  For the 2011/12 tax year, HMRC has published rates of 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles they travel, followed by 25p per mile for all miles thereafter.  If you reimburse your employees at the HMRC published rates (or lower), no taxable benefit occurs.

The 45p and 25p rates are intended to cover all costs involved in an employee using their personal car, both capital and running costs.  You should note that if you do pay mileage, you should not pay any other costs relating to that vehicle, such as fuel, servicing, insurance, etc.

If you are a VAT registered business, HMRC allow you to reclaim VAT on the fuel element of the allowances.

So how do you calculate how much VAT you can reclaim?

The amount of VAT you can recover depends the engine size and the type of fuel the car uses.  HMRC issue advisory fuel rates which show how many pence per mile can be attributed to fuel costs.

These rates are revised every quarter to reflect changes in fuel prices.  They can be found on the HMRC website by following the link below.  If the link does not work, you can copy and paste this into your browser.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cars/advisory_fuel_current.htm

An example of calculating the amount of VAT you can reclaim is below:

An employee travels business 500 miles in a 1600cc petrol car on 1^st September 2011.  The employee has not been reimbursed for any other mileage within this tax year.

• The employee can be reimbursed 500 miles x 45p = £225 with no further tax implications.

• The business can reclaim some VAT on the £225.  If we look at HMRC's table for a 1600cc petrol car, the advisory fuel rate is 18p for the quarter starting 1st September 2011, therefore: 

         500 miles x 18p = £90.  This is the fuel element, inclusive of VAT.

         Whilst the standard VAT rate is 20%, to work out the VAT amount we simply 

         divide the gross figure by 6:

         £90 ÷ 6 = £15 VAT

• So, although the business reimburses the employee the full £225, it can reclaim £15 via its VAT Return.

 

By using HMRC’s advisory rates, you can be sure that in the event of any investigation, the correct amounts of VAT have been reclaimed.