Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking they can try to save money by completing their own tax return, rather than engaging the help of a professional. Unfortunately, there are several areas to consider when looking at the costs of professional help and the benefits this provides.
Your own time isn’t free
If you are taking time to complete your own tax return, this takes away time you could spend on other activities. If you look at your normal earnings and the hours you spend working, you can calculate the value of your time. When trying to complete your own tax return it is likely to take longer than you expect as you will also be training yourself in how to do this.
There is no tax relief for your own time
If you are a landlord or self-employed, then the costs of engaging a professional to help you are an allowable expense that qualifies for tax relief in the accounts. Your own time isn’t unfortunately allowable, no matter how long it takes you.
You could miss claiming expenses you are entitled to
If you are not familiar with the tax laws, you may not be aware of all the allowable expenses that can be claimed to reduce your tax bill.
You may claim expenses that you aren’t entitled to
I have seen people get their taxes into a mess by claiming expenses that they shouldn’t have. These errors may go unnoticed for several years, building up a large liability that you don’t know about until you suddenly get the shock of a letter from HMRC.
Save time and money by getting professional assistance
When you consider the points above, seeking a professional can actually save you money. In several cases the extra allowable expenses I have been able to claim, combined with the tax relief on fees, have resulted in an overall saving compared to trying to save money and do things yourself.
As well as assistance with the annual tax return, I operate fixed fees so that you can have any general queries answered during the year for no extra cost. There are also reminders issued for upcoming deadlines as well as a monthly client newsletter to keep you updated on tax changes, such as the making tax digital for income tax coming in 2024.
Please do make contact to see how I can make things easier for you.