fee for company dissolution, CGT, Entrepreneurial Relief ?

[zoro]

Hi,

I'm sure lots of people have gone down this route in the past. Was wondering what others have paid? My accountant wants to charge me about £4K to do everything. i.e. applying to HMRC, final accounts, tax return, CGT, Entrepreneurial Relief.

Cheers!

[Clare@InTouch]

You should be looking in the region of £300, assuming everything is reasonably straightforward and you're not going through a formal liquidation process.

[zoro]

You should be looking in the region of £300, assuming everything is reasonably straightforward and you're not going through a formal liquidation process.

That is a big difference! Anyone else?

I am closing down the company. That is not formal liquidation isn't it?

[Nixon Williams]

Hi,

I'm sure lots of people have gone down this route in the past. Was wondering what others have paid? My accountant wants to charge me about £4K to do everything. i.e. applying to HMRC, final accounts, tax return, CGT, Entrepreneurial Relief.

Cheers!

We would charge a client £150+VAT for the closure process, this also covers any future HMRC queries regarding the company, even if this happens 2-3 years later.

Unfortunately the fee would be higher if you are not already a client due to the extra work involved with the accounts etc.

Alan

[Clare@InTouch]

That is a big difference! Anyone else?

I am closing down the company. That is not formal liquidation isn't it?

When you close a company you're supposed to use formal liquidation procedures if you want to withdraw any final money as a capital gain, but there are less strict guidelines you can follow that allow the whole process to be simplified in certain circumstances. This is ECS C16, and you apply to HMRC in advance for permission to use it.

It therefore depends what process your accountant is proposing to follow. A formal liquidation would be more in the price region you mention, but it's worth asking him if that's what he's doing and if there's a reason he's not going for ESC C16 instead.

[zoro]

Would any of you be able to get it done for me before the 23rd March (i.e. the next budget announcement) ?

Does that price include everything? i.e. completing the final accounts (which I have in a spreadsheet), all the necessary arrangements with HMRC and Companies House, my personal tax return for the CGT and Entrepreneurial Relief.

Cheers

[Clare@InTouch]

It might be worth going back to your accountant first and asking for his logic behind charging such a high fee. There may be circumstances we don't know about.

Are you trying to get it done before the budget purely because of the potential changes to ESC C16?

[zoro]

It might be worth going back to your accountant first and asking for his logic behind charging such a high fee. There may be circumstances we don't know about.

Are you trying to get it done before the budget purely because of the potential changes to ESC C16?

Both. I was going to do it anyway, so must as well do it before then in case of any surprises.

[Clare@InTouch]

Both. I was going to do it anyway, so must as well do it before then in case of any surprises.

I think it depends on the state of your affairs at the moment really. The closure process would involve:

Collecting all debts and closing company bank account;
Closing PAYE scheme and filing end of year returns;
Closing VAT scheme and filing final VAT return;
Preparation of closure accounts;
Applying to HMRC for ESC C16.

Getting all of that done in 2 weeks in highly unlikely.

[MrRobin]

Are you trying to get it done before the budget purely because of the potential changes to ESC C16?

Is this on the cards? I haven't heard any speculation about this being in the budget... do you have a link?