One of the most important considerations when incorporating a new company is to fulfill the necessary tax requirements. For this reason tax consultants play a vital role in ensuring that their clients are paying the correct but lowest amount of tax possible by legally lowering the tax liability and providing their clients with financial and tax-related advice. Tax consultants are financial experts who assist clients with tax issues. They are also referred to as tax advisers, who are trained in tax law. They stay up-to-date on the latest tax requirements, consult tax law handbooks and look for bulletins regarding common and typical tax procedures.
There are a number of reasons it is fundamental to seek advice from a tax consultant while setting up a company. A few tasks the consultants are responsible for are educating clients on tax options, giving specialist advice, preparing and assisting clients in finding the right deductions, credits and adjustments based on their financial situation and helping clients to compute taxes based on their transactions. Tax consultants not only give advice but also provide various services. These services usually include preparation of personal tax returns, VAT returns, corporation tax returns and book keeping services. They can help to ensure that you comply with all HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requirements and can forecast your tax and help you to plan ahead.
During the company formation process, directors often require advice on accounting and tax services such as VAT registration. Tax consultants play an important role during VAT registration. It is generally advisable to appoint someone to help your company deal with VAT. A tax consultant or an agent can act on behalf of the company to submit VAT Returns and deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on other VAT related matters.
Value added tax (VAT) is an indirect tax on transactions. Companies usually need VAT Registration when:
- Supplying goods or services within the UK - If the turnover of VAT taxable goods and services supplied within the UK for the previous 12 months is more than the current registration threshold of £79,000, or expected to go over that figure in the next 30 days alone
- Receiving goods from other countries in the European Union (EU) - If the company received goods from other EU countries in the UK with a total value greater than £79,000 in the current year since 1 January, or expected to acquire more than that value in the next 30 days alone
- Supplying goods or services from the UK to other EC countries or to the UK from other countries
An exception from VAT registration can be applied for if:
- the company had to register for VAT because the value of your taxable supplies in the previous 12 months has exceeded the registration threshold of £79,000 (including the value of supplies made by a VAT-registered business that you have taken over)
- you can demonstrate to HMRC that in the longer term you will only be trading below the de-registration threshold of £77,000.
Wisteria Chartered Accountants, Business and Tax Advisors provide a variety of tax services for companies and individuals. For tax advice, information on our services or details on setting up a company if you are a non-UK resident, please contact 0208 952 0140 or email
[email protected].