Essential monthly tax news and marketing strategies for busy accounting and tax professionals.

2 minute read.

Tax Insider will be exhibiting at Accountex on 1 – 2 May at ExCel London. Come visit us at Stand 1231 to meet our team and get exclusive offers.

1 minute read.

Our first quick tip in our series of marketing for accountants.

Many small accounting firms neglect this basic step, but monitoring your competitors is something that you should do regularly. Check their websites, sign up to their mailing lists, contact them for details of their fees, read their reviews, and follow them on social media. Knowing offhand how much your competitors are charging, their services, and their strengths and weaknesses will give your marketing strategy direction, clarity and purpose. The more you know about your competitors, the better you can work towards competing with them.

Action: Identify the main competitors in your area. Spend one hour looking at each competitor and list their strengths and weaknesses

7 minute read.

The opportunities to use a salary sacrifice arrangements to save tax and National Insurance were seriously curtailed with the introduction of the alternative valuation rules that apply from 6 April 2017 to value benefits provided under an optional remuneration arrangement (OpRA).

Where the rules apply, the benefit of any associated tax exemption is lost if a benefit is provided through a salary sacrifice or other OpRA. Under a salary sacrifice arrangement an employee gives up an amount of salary in return for a benefit in kind. Where the benefit remains exempt from tax when provided under a salary sacrifice arrangement, the employee saves tax and the employer and employee save National Insurance. 

4 minute read.

In our recent survey we found that only 30% of small accounting firms were using social media to market their practice. Many accountants feel that social media is not relevant for their firm or will take too much time to implement into their marketing strategy. However, not only is social media a positive and powerful marketing tool, not having social media can be actively detrimental to your firm by restricting your ability to present your voice online and by affecting the trustworthiness of your firm if clients are suspicious of your lack of presence.

7 minute read.

Summary 

The appellant was the representative member of a VAT group and appealed against decisions of HMRC that digital versions of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, and The Sun on Sunday could not be zero-rated under Item 2 Group 3 of Schedule 8 Value Added Tax Act 1994 and were, therefore, standard rated for VAT purposes.

Secondly, even if the digital editions of the above titles are not ‘newspapers’, the appellant contended that the principle of fiscal neutrality nevertheless requires zero-rating on the basis that, viewed from the perspective of the customer, they satisfy the same customer needs as conventional printed editions. HMRC argued the digital editions were not similar to the newsprint editions and, in any event, the principle of fiscal neutrality could not be used to expand the borders of zero rating from their 1991 limits.

5 minute read.

Gradually reliefs and allowances relating to renting are being eroded away and with the Property Tax Campaign in its fifth year, it is obvious that HMRC believe that there is still more tax to be gleaned. However, one relief that it would be difficult to withdraw entirely is the right to claim expenses incurred on the running of the property.

Renting is deemed to be a ‘business’ for income tax purposes and as such similar expenses incurred in the running of other businesses are allowable. Repairs, car running costs relating to the business use, council tax, management expenses, legal fees are all allowable.

3 minute read.

A typical remuneration package comprises a number of elements. Some of these are subject to legislative control. For example, employers must pay employees in accordance with the National Minimum Wage legislation, paying at least the National Living Wage to workers aged 25 and older and, for workers under the age of 25, at least the National Minimum Wage for their age.

In addition, employers must comply with the equal pay legislation and provide paid holiday at least equal to the statutory minimum. However, other aspects of the remuneration package are at the discretion of the employer. 

5 minute read.

Marketing for accountants is tough and many tax and accounting firms neglect their marketing, whether it’s because they’re too busy, don’t think they need to, or are just not sure where to start. This article is a great place to start if you’re a small firm or sole practitioner who wants to get going with your marketing.

1 minute read.

Welcome to the Tax Insider Professional blog, a dedicated place for accountants and tax professionals to learn and share.

Each week, we’ll bring you marketing for accountants best practice and insights as well as sharing tax tips and extra tax content that we think you’ll find useful in running your firm. We’ll also share and recommend interesting content from the industry, as well as news and updates about us.

We hope that this blog will become a helpful resource to you and your firm. If you have any suggestions on what you’d like us to write about, please leave a comment, email us at support@taxinsider.co.uk, or use our contact us form.

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