Running a business is complicated and stressful and probably takes up the majority of your time just to keep it going day to day. So it’s no surprise that thousands of SME’s are not making the most of some of the tax reliefs available to them, when it’s hard to find the time to even think about it.
This is where we can help. We have put together a handy guide for all you busy bees on how you can take advantage of tax reliefs to better benefit you and your business.
Get Organised
Start the year afresh with a whole new attitude to keeping your financial records in order. We know it’s not fun, but any receipts or invoices should be logged and stored and ready to go when you need them. By not keeping track of these you could literally be throwing money away. If this is something you struggle with every year then why not see how technology could help you. There are many apps available solely for this purpose. Simply snap a picture of the receipt and it will be recorded digitally so you don’t have to worry about keeping them in a file in the depths of your office (or worse yet a plastic shopping bag).
Be prepared for the tax man
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that you will likely have a tax bill to pay come January, yet what is surprising is that many individuals don’t think about this until after they have filed their tax return. Instead, get ahead this year and plan what money you need to put aside to pay the amount before the deadline. By setting aside a little each month it won’t feel so painful when the bill finally comes back to you.
Evidence
There are many rules on what can and can’t be claimed by a business as a business expense. This can be a very costly area if you are not able to provide sufficient evidence that an expense is ‘wholly and exclusively for the purpose of trade’. Make sure that you have all of the necessary documents to back up any claims of incurred business costs, as otherwise you may lose out.
Set aside time for a tax break
There are so many tax breaks available to businesses, yet there are thousands of pounds of breaks going unused by the entrepreneur community. Set aside some time to think about your business and do some research to see if there are any areas you may be able to take advantage of any tax breaks. Entrepreneur relief, capital allowances and research and development reliefs are just some that you could consider.
We will always try to advise where we can if any of these are available to you to claim for but let us know if there are any you think you could benefit from and would like to discuss further.
Re-evaluate, Re-assess
Your business may have started out as a sole-trader but how has it changed over the course of it’s lifetime? Re-assess where your company is now and whether there are other tax structures that would be better suited to your current situation. We are more than happy to discuss this with you and advise a course of action for the best possible outcome for you.
It’s also worth thinking about creating a tax plan if you don’t have one already. Are there ways that you could better take advantage of the tax system? Without forward planning you could end up paying more tax than necessary.
These are just a few things you can consider to make your tax life a little easier and maybe save some money along the way. If there are any areas you would like to discuss further, then please contact us for more information.
