accounting | G&C Accounting - Ealing, West London

HMRC Rental Income Investigations

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 22:50:10 +0000

HMRC Rental Income Investigations

Recently, we have been hearing from our new and existing clients about letters they received from HMRC to investigate if they have been getting property income without declaring.

HMRC currently employs a system to investigate rental property income that hasn’t been declared by taxpayers. This process is part of their commitment to ensuring compliance with tax regulations and maintaining a fair and transparent tax system. HMRC utilises information from third parties and open-source materials, such as from news, social media, Companies House, Land Registry etc. to identify discrepancies in individuals’ tax declarations.

In cases where rental property income is suspected to be undeclared, HMRC initiates investigations, but first they will contact you to confirm in writing whether you have or have not received property income.

Depending on the information you provide, HMRC will decide how to proceed. Obviously, failure to comply with tax regulations and declare rental income can result in penalties, fines, and legal consequences.

If you have received a letter from HMRC and unsure what to do next, get in touch with us as soon as possible. We understand that it can cause some anxiety but rest assured, we would be able to provide you with the best support and advice how to proceed.

Do you need to complete a Self Assessment tax return this year?

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 07:02:05 +0000

If you are unsure if you need to submit a Self Assessment tax return, get in touch with us for help. We work with clients in West London, including Acton, Hammersmith, Chiswick, Ealing, Hanwell and any surrounding areas and have experience in all accounting matters.

You can also check HMRC’s online tool to check if you have to return your tax assessment.

Normally, you need to complete tax return if:

are newly self-employed and have earned more than £1,000
have multiple sources of income
have received any untaxed income, for example earning money for creating online content
earn more than £100,000 a year
earn income from property that they own and rent out
are a new partner in a business partnership
are claiming Child Benefit and they or their partner have an income above £50,000
receive interest from banks and building societies (more than £10,000)
receive dividends in excess of £10,000
need to pay Capital Gains Tax
are self-employed and earn less than £1,000 but wish to pay Class 2 NICs voluntarily to protect their entitlement to State Pension and certain benefits

If you are not sure if you fall under one or more of these categories, contact us – we are waiting to hear from you for friendly, jargon-free advice.

Our Secret Weapon: XERO

Mon, 29 May 2023 20:58:47 +0000

Xero accounting software has become a top choice for accountants and small business owners over the last years, offering a host of advantages, which we also recommend. Get in touch with us if you want to learn more, as we are a Xero-certified bronze partner.

The advantages of using Xero are:

Real-time Financial Visibility:
Access real-time financial data, effortlessly reconcile transactions, monitor cash flow, and track financial performance with automatic bank feeds.
Simplified Invoicing and Billing:
Create professional invoices, track payments, and send automated reminders, eliminating paperwork and streamlining billing.
Efficient Expense Management:
Capture, categorize, and securely store digital receipts, simplifying expense management and ensuring accurate reporting.
Seamless Integration with Third-Party Apps:
Integrate Xero with payment gateways, inventory management systems, and payroll solutions, with less manual data entry.
Collaborative and Secure Environment:
Collaborate in a secure cloud-based platform, allowing multiple users to access and work on financial data simultaneously, with robust security measures in place.
Time and Cost Savings:
With Xero, you’ll be saving time and reducing errors. Xero’s affordability makes it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

We would recommend that small and medium businesses embrace Xero for efficient, accurate, and time-saving accounting practices – and we’re here to guide you.

31 January 2022: Self-Assessment Deadline

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 09:59:27 +0000

The deadline of returning your online and paper self assessment on 31 January is approaching, and we’d like to remind you that we are here to support you with every step of it.

If you need any help, clarifications and guidance with these dates, let us know. All the financial and accounting vocabulary used by HMRC can sound overwhelming and confusing, but we can explain everything in an accessible, supportive way and help you with all your self-employment needs.

Below are some resources for self assessment returns:

Contact Us

HMRC guidlines

File your online return

More information on HMRC website.

October Deadline Looming

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 07:28:43 +0000

Your HMRC paper tax return must be submitted by 31 October.

If even you don’t have any tax to pay, there will be penalties, if you send the form after this date. You can fill in your tax return and submit before 31 October, without waiting for the deadline.

You can request a paper for here and get in touch with us asap if you need help.

More information about Self Assessment and penalties can be found on the HMRC site.

Four tonnes heavy cryptocurrency

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 10:34:49 +0000

Four tonnes heavy cryptocurrency

What have the Micronesian island of Yap and Bitcoin got in common? It looks like that the blockchain technologies used to record digital transactions are not so revolutionary, as the people of Yap have been using the same system for a few centuries already – except their money weighed about 4 tonnes.

Their stone money, known as Rai, is a large doughnut-shaped, carved disks up to 4 m in diameter, starting from really small change of 3.5 centimetres to 3.6 meters. Weighting tonnes. Currently there are 6,000 stone disks carved out of limestone. The largest rai stone is located on Rumung island.

What is quite incredible is that Yap had no durable rock or precious metals and its sailors, commissioned by their leaders, would sail to Palau on bamboo rafts, and bring limestone from their quarries.

According to BBC, ‘’On their return from Palau, the sailors would give the carved stone money to the high chiefs who would gather from different villages to welcome back the sailors and the stones. The chiefs would keep the larger ones and two fifths of the smaller ones. They would also give names to some stones, usually choosing their own name or that of relatives, and confirm the stones as legitimate by giving a value based on an even older currency system’’

The value of a specific stone is based on its size, how well it’s made and its history. If many people died when the specific stone was transported, or a famous sailor brought it in, the value of the rai stone increases.

The stones used for social transactions such as inheritance, ransoms, deals, marriage etc, but what is really interesting and unique, that their physical location is not important – hence the similarity to Bitcoin. They can be left in an alleyway, as it’s difficult to transport but as long as it’s agreed who it belongs to, it’s enough to use it as currency.

There is an interesting story of a large rai accidentally dropped into the sea, but everyone agreed that the rai must still be there, so it continued to be transacted as genuine currency.

The trade for rai stones eventually stopped as a result of trade disputes but it’s an interesting reminder of an innovative currency system well before the digital age.

Deadlines for 2019

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 09:27:15 +0000

As the deadline of making second payment on account on 31 July approaches, we’d like to remind you of some other important dates and deadlines this tax year.

31 July 2019 – the deadline for making second ‘payment on account’ to HMRC. This is applicable if you were self-employed inr 2017-18 tax year, owing tax of over £1,000 when you submitted your tax return for this period.

5 October 2019 – is the deadline for registering for Self Assessment if you’re self-employed or a sole trader, not self-employed, or registering a partner or partnership

31 October 2019 – the Self Assessment deadline for the tax year 2018-19 for a paper return rather than filing online. However, most businesses are currently filing their tax return online.

30 December 2019 – the deadline for filing your online tax return if you want the tax owed to be collected through PAYE via your tax code.

31 January 2020 – the deadlines for online tax returns and for paying the tax you owe

More information on HMRC website.