Accountant payroll bad advice

[contractor79]

Hi
My accountant has just done my self assessment tax return and I'm shocked to find I owe more than £300! This seems to have come about because they badly advised me of the net amount to pay myself in salary, and then badly advised me of how much to pay myself in dividend resulting in me paying myself about £1200 too much in dividends for which I'm charged 32.5% tax. I didn't want to be higher rate taxpayer.

anything I can do, except for changing my accountants (which I'm in the process of doing?)

[jmo21]

can you put down the £1200 dividend as a directors loan and pay your company back?

[moorfield]

Hi
My accountant has just done my self assessment tax return and I'm shocked to find I owe more than £300! This seems to have come about because they badly advised me of the net amount to pay myself in salary, and then badly advised me of how much to pay myself in dividend resulting in me paying myself about £1200 too much in dividends for which I'm charged 32.5% tax. I didn't want to be higher rate taxpayer.

anything I can do, except for changing my accountants (which I'm in the process of doing?)

Yes - Do the numbers yourself - it's not hard to work out how much salary + divis you can pay yourself each year - all the tax tables etc. are freely available. IMO you should be telling your accountant how much divi you want to take, not the other way round. And TBH +/- £300 is not a bad margin of error.

[chris79]

Yes - Do the numbers yourself - it's not hard to work out how much salary + divis you can pay yourself each year - all the tax tables etc. are freely available. IMO you should be telling your accountant how much divi you want to take, not the other way round. And TBH +/- £300 is not a bad margin of error.

Unless he asked his accountant what the figures were in the first place, only for them to screw this part up.

[contractor79]

Yes - Do the numbers yourself - it's not hard to work out how much salary + divis you can pay yourself each year - all the tax tables etc. are freely available. IMO you should be telling your accountant how much divi you want to take, not the other way round. And TBH +/- £300 is not a bad margin of error.

I disagree

[BolshieBastard]

£300 isnt even a decent day rate. I wouldnt worry about it too much. It'll cost you more in time and money to get the £300 back. And for what, to say you saved £300!?

Just change your accountant for a better one and chalk it up to experience.