Test your tax knowledge with our fiendish Halloween quiz!
Trick or Treat: HMRC investigations cost you nothing if there is no tax to pay?
TRICK! Even if you have done nothing wrong, you will still incur costs during an HMRC investigation relating to the defence of your case. Happily though, you can take out our Fee Protection Package which covers you for up to £125,000 worth of the costs of fighting a claim.
Trick or Treat: HMRC prefer to incentivise you to pay your tax rather than catching you out?
TREAT. Believe it or not, HMRC provide a number of schemes and mechanisms through which you can declare and pay unpaid tax, rather than waiting for them to find and fine you! Honesty is always the best policy.
Trick or Treat: You can save tax by making your pet a director of your limited company?
TRICK! Sadly you have to be human to be a director of a limited company, even at Halloween!
Trick or Treat: You can claim back tax if you work from home?
TREAT. While you can’t claim for your entire household costs when using your home as an office, you can claim some tax relief on a proportion of the additional costs relating to your work activities. Contact your accountant to find out if you are eligible and how to claim.
Trick or Treat: You can claim all of your personal car costs as a business expense?
TRICK. However, you can claim mileage costs relating to specific business-related activities (not commuting), and the HMRC approved mileage rate is calculated to provide additional funds over and above the cost of petrol, to take into account wear and tear, insurance and running costs. If you are using your personal vehicle for work, do make sure you have the correct type of insurance policy though!
Trick or Treat: If I do my own tax return wrong, HMRC won’t fine me as I’m not an accountant?
Let’s consider a metaphor to help us with this one, if you crash your car due to speeding, will the police let you off because you’re not a racing driver? Nope, it’s a TRICK! As with most areas of the law, ignorance is no excuse, so if you think you may be doing your tax return wrong, get yourself down to an accountant as quick as you can (but not above 70 miles per hour…)
Trick or Treat: HMRC will let me claim tax back on my drinking habit?
As long as your habit is only one glass of wine with a meal when you’re on business… TREAT!
Trick or Treat: Accountants are magical beings who can disappear any unwanted income and then reappear it when HMRC aren’t looking?
Oh how we wish that this were true. But sadly, our number ninjas are just ordinary mortals with no magical powers (although one or two of them do look a bit funny under the light of a full moon). TRICK.
