Useful Information

Quality Accountancy Support and Advice

Lewis Smith & Co. prides itself on the quality of support and advice that it gives to its clients whether they are start-ups or established businesses.

We have compiled a library of information and links to other sources that will be helpful to sole traders, entrepreneurs, small and medium sized businesses, as well as accountancy and financial professionals in any organisation.

All you have to do is simply click on a one of the links to find out more.

We are always open to suggestions for more information or for other links - let us know.

And remember if you need further advice or support call or email us to set-up a free confidential discussion with one of our expert team.

Accounts and Tax Calendar

Dates to put in your schedule to make sure that you stay in the good books of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Date Event Applies To
31 January Online filing of Self Assessment Tax Return deadline. Individuals and partnerships.
31 January Balancing payment (previous year) and 1st Payment on Account for personal tax. Individuals.
31 March End of corporate tax year. Companies.
5 April End of financial tax year. Individuals, partnership and companies.
19 April All outstanding PAYE and N.I. for the year ended 5th April to be paid, or be subject to HMRC interest. All employers.
19 May Employer’s PAYE return form P35 for the year ended 5th April to be filed with the Inland Revenue. All employers.
31 May Deadline for distribution of P60's to all employees. Do not distribute to employees who left your employment within the tax year. All employers.
6 July Deadline for filing P11Ds and P11D(b)s and for distributing P11Ds to employees. All employers who offer benefits-in-kind e.g. company car.
19 July Payment deadline for Class1A National Insurance. All employers who offer taxable benefits-in-kind e.g. company car.
31 July 2nd payment on account due for personal tax. Individuals.
31 October Paper filing of tax return deadline. Individuals and partnerships

Useful dates and deadlines

Date Event Applies To
19th of each month PAYE and NI for the previous month to be paid to the Inland Revenue. All employers not on Quarterly Payment scheme.
14 days after each calendar quarter and 14 days after company year-end Form CT61 to be filed with the Inland Revenue if any interest paid with income tax deducted at source. Companies only.
Quarterly (unless on special scheme) VAT Return to be filed with HMRC, together with VAT due All VAT registered businesses.
3 months after commencing self-employment Self-employment to be notified to Inland Revenue. Individuals and partnerships.
9 months and 1 day after company year-end Corporation tax for the year to be paid. Companies only.
9/10 months after company year-end Company accounts for the year to be filed with Companies House. Companies only.
12 months after company year-end Deadline for filing corporation tax return form CT600 with HMRC. Companies only.
Annually (Date of company incorparation unless changed) Deadline for filing form 363a Annual return with Companies House. Companies only.

If you have any queries about the timing of submissions or filings for HMRC then simply call or email us and we will be delighted to help you out.

IR35 Checklist

The following is a non-exhaustive checklist of some of the factors the Inland Revenue would use in assessing whether income from a particular contract is subject to the IR35 rules:

Badges of Trade Indicative of Self Employment Indicative of Employment
BASIS OF REMUNERATION Remunerated on a project basis, or at a fixed price. Remunerated on a time basis. Paid holidays, sick pay etc.
RIGHT OF CONTROL You have the right to decide how, when and by whom a job is done. Can send substitute to do job. Close directional supervision by your client (master – servant relationship). Client can dismiss you.
TOOLS OF TRADE You supply large or expensive equipment, and may work from your own premises. Provision of only small or no equipment. Work at client’s premises
TRADING STRUCTURE Trade with more than one client at a time, or work on short successive assignments with different clients. Long term assignments with the same client.
FINANCIAL RISK A loss can be suffered. All rejected work to be corrected at your own cost. Penalty clauses. A larger profit can be made from sound management. No financial exposure. All rejected work to be corrected at your client’s cost.
BUSINESS ORGANISATION Own premises, letterheads, other employees, insurance etc. Quoting for jobs in advance. Advertising None.
TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT Contracts or understandings which record the above. Contracts or understandings which do not record the above beneficial badges of trade, or no contracts at all.

If you are unsure of your position regarding a contract then feel free to contact Lewis Smith & Co. and we will do our best to help.

Tax Rates, Allowances and Thresholds

It can hard to find some of the basic tax information on the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website so we have compiled an easy to use list of the key tables. Please click on the links below - tables will open in a new window.

Capital Gains Tax

Corporation Tax - Rates and Allowances

Income Tax

Inheritance Tax

National Insurance Contributions - Rates and Allowances

Pension Contributions

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stamp Duty Reserve Tax

VAT rates and thresholds

VAT Rates         Rate
Standard Rate (From December 1st 2008)         15%
Reduced Rate         5%
Zero Rate         0%
         
         
         
VAT Thresholds 2007-08 2008-09
Registration Limit Reduced rate 5%
De-Registration Limit    
Flat Rate Scheme Limit    
Cash Accounting Limited Zero rate 0%
     
     

If you need more help with any aspect of taxation whether it is filling in a tax return or complex tax planning then simply get in contact with Lewis Smith & Co. for a free, confidential discussion today.

PAYE and NIC Calculators

These links will take you straight to the appropriate calculation tools on the HMRC website. Pages will open in new tabs or windows. Registration or sign-in may be required.

PAYE Tax Calculator

National Insurance Class 1 Calculator

Remember if you have any issues with PAYE or National Insurance in your organisation Lewis Smith & Co. has an experienced team to help you out. Simply call or email us today to discuss your requirements.

Useful Links: Accounting and Taxation websites

The list below gives all the main sites of interest in the accounting world from Chartered Institutes to software suppliers. Simply click the links to visit them. Pages will open in new tabs or windows.

Accounting Web
Accountancy Age
Accountancy Online
Association of Accounting Technicians
Association of Tax Technicians
CCH
Independent Accountants International
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
Institute of Taxation
International Accounting Standards Board
International Association of Practicing Accountants
Intuit
Iris
Pegasus
Quicken
Sage
The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

If you have any questions for Lewis Smith & Co's expert team about accounting issues then don't hesitate to give us a call.

Useful Links: Business and Enterprise

Many of the major business related sites are listed below. Links open in a new tab or window

3i
ACAS
Advantage West Midlands
BNI
BERR - Enterprise and Business Support
British Chamber of Commerce
British Franchise Association
British Venture Capital Association
Business in the Community
Business Link
Confederation of British Industry
Dun & Bradstreet
EU Business
Federation of Small Businesses
Financial Times
Insolvency.co.uk
Institute of Directors
Institute of Export
Investors in People
London Business School
National B2B Centre
National Federation of Enterprise
National Quality Assurance
Startups.co.uk

Lewis Smith & Co. provides business advice to a wide range of companies in many different industry sectors. If you need assistance in planning for the future success of your organisation then you can rely on Lewis Smith & Co.. Call or email us today to schedule a meeting with one of our senior partners.

Useful Links: Directories and Web Portals

These are the biggest (and probably the best) search engines and directories. Simply click on the links below. Pages will open in a new tab or window.

192.com
Alta Vista
Ask
Dogpile
Ezilon
Find UK
Google
Hotbot
Lycos
Mirago
Monstercrawler
Scoot
Thomson
UK Plus
Webcrawler
Yahoo
Yell.com

We've included the links we think are the best. Are there any other directories you'd suggest?

Useful Links: Investment

The following list comprises links to organisations involved in investing and finance. Simply click on the links below. Pages will open in a new tab or window.

Alternative Investment Market
Brewin Dolphin Stockbrokers
Dow Jones
E-Trade
Financial Services Authority
FTSE
Investors Chronicle
Jordans
Killik & Co
London Stock Exchange
Moneyextra
Money Supermarket
Moneyweb
MSN Money
Pension Calculator
Reuters
Stock Trade
The Motley Fool
This is Money
UK Online Investing
Virgin Money

Have we included everything you need? Drop us a line if you have any further suggestions.

Useful Links: Information Technology

This page list some useful IT and computing related websites. Click on the links below. Pages will open in a new tab or window.

Adobe
Apple
CNet
Contractor UK
Get Safe Online
Hewlett Packard
IBM
I Tools
Java Sun.com
JamesCash.co.uk
Macromedia
McAfee
Microdirect
Microsoft
PC World Business
Real.com
Sophos
Symantec
The Professional Contracters Group

Anything missing? Let us know if we should add any other links.

Useful Links: Law

Here are some useful legal web links. Just click on the links to get to the sites. Pages will open in a new tab or new page.

British Employment Law
College of Law
Compactlaw
Courtservice
Higgs & Son Solicitors
ICLR (Incorporated Council of Law Reporting)
Institute of Legal Executives
Lawlinks
Lawrite
Lawzone
Law on the Web
The Law Commission
The Law Gazette
The Law Society
Waldrons Solicitors

What else would be useful? Email us if you have any suggestions.

Useful Links - Local

These are websites that are connected with our local area - The Black Country and West Midlands. Just click on the links. Pages will open in a new tab or new page.

Be in Birmingham
Belbroughton.com
Black Country Museum
Black Country Tourism
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
Dudley Zoo & Castle
Express and Star
Hagley
Kingswinford
Kinver
Merry Hill
Midland Pub Guide
Netherton
Oldswinford.com
Stourbridge.com
The Robin R'n'B Club
Wolverhampton City Council
Wombourne.org

Let us know if there is anything we have missed.

Useful Links - News and Media

These are some of the the best websites around for national and international news.

BBC
BBC - news
Channel 4
CNN
Express.co.uk
ITN
Mirror.co.uk
Press Association
Sky
The Economist
The Guardian
The Independent
The London Gazette
The Observer
The Sun
The Telegraph
The Times

Are there any other news sites that you would like to add? Just call us.

Useful Links - Regulatory Bodies

The following list gives links to the main regulatory bodies. Click on the links below. Pages will open in a new tab or window.

Audit Commission
Banking Ombudsman
Charity Commission
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Competition Commission
Financial Ombudsman
Government Actuaries Department
Independent Banking Advisory Service
Office of Fair Trading
OPRA
Securities & Futures Authority
Serious Fraud Office
UK National Audit Office

Are there any other regulatory bodies that we should add? Please contact us if you have any suggestions.

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