Saving more on VAT and corporation tax

[Fred Bloggs]

This was all I wanted to know. Thank you. This means the onus is on my accountant to communicate to me how much I owe, and he has failed to do so.

You can keep the rest of the condescension, pouring that on took time out of your life that you can never get back.

I think you're missing something here. It matters not what he accountant does or doesn't do. It is you as the director to make absolutely sure you trade in line with all company legislation and this means determining your company tax and paying it on time. Like the previous poster says, you have nowhere to hide on this one. my recommendation is you need to find a decent accountant and in addition get up to speed with what you're responsibilities really are regrading running a Ltd Company. Put even more bluntly, if you don't pay your Ltd Co's tax, it isn't the accountant who goes to jail.

[northernladuk]

I think you're missing something here. It matters not what he accountant does or doesn't do. It is you as the director to make absolutely sure you trade in line with all company legislation and this means determining your company tax and paying it on time. Like the previous poster says, you have nowhere to hide on this one. my recommendation is you need to find a decent accountant and in addition get up to speed with what you're responsibilities really are regrading running a Ltd Company. Put even more bluntly, if you don't pay your Ltd Co's tax, it isn't the accountant who goes to jail.

Indeed but surely the accountant has a duty of care here. The OP might be ultimately responsible but if the accountant has failed to do basic stuff and keep him in the dark some of that liability can be passed to him. Just because you are the director it doesn't mean the accountant can get away with acting negligently.

[Scruff]

Your accountant sounds incompetent. I'm afraid that your responsibility as a Director doesn't excuse that. We all know that we have to pay Corporation Tax, but it does sound as though you have buried your head in the sand here. You could always have called HMRC and got the info.

Did you not review the Company Tax Return?

[Lance]

This was all I wanted to know. Thank you. This means the onus is on my accountant to communicate to me how much I owe, and he has failed to do so.

You can keep the rest of the condescension, pouring that on took time out of your life that you can never get back.

My time is only wasted if you ignore the important points. Which you have.
As for the accountant. You chose him. You have paid him for 3 years. Why haven't you sacked him?

I say that you are wilfully committing tax evasion and using your accountant as an excuse. Expect to be fined by HMRC and to have to pay interest at the very least.

As for condescension.... This is general. And you're deliberately not paying your dues.

[northernladuk]

I say that you are wilfully committing tax evasion and using your accountant as an excuse.
.

I don't see he's wilfully doing it. I don't think HMRC care the reason though.

[Lance]

I don't see he's wilfully doing it. I don't think HMRC care the reason though.

Stashing it away in another account when you know it's owed seems wilful to me.

You're right though. They don't care.

[Ch0pper]

Corporation Tax Notification

I don't see he's wilfully doing it. I don't think HMRC care the reason though.

I have been fined a small amount for a late return. I do not have an issue with this from HMRC's side and I have paid the bill.

The question I had was a simple one, or so I thought. Where do HMRC send the details of how much CT is owed?

If HMRC only notify the LC registered office, which is my accountant's firm and not my home address, how am I supposed to know how much to pay unless he sends me the form he got from HMRC detailing this? He has finally sent the HMRC forms from 2015 and 2016 to me, as of last Friday 20 October 2017, which is the first time I have laid eyes on them. I have been asking him about this for 18 months on and off and have been told that I can wait and use my CIS contributions to offset the CT bill.

I am not an accountant, obviously, so I follow the advice he gives me. When you go to the mechanic are you supposed to know as much about the car as he does?

Essentially I now know my accountant is not doing the job as I require it so I shall take my business elsewhere.

Thank you all for your contributions.

[WTFH]

I have been fined a small amount for a late return. I do not have an issue with this from HMRC's side and I have paid the bill.

The question I had was a simple one, or so I thought. Where do HMRC send the details of how much CT is owed?

If HMRC only notify the LC registered office, which is my accountant's firm and not my home address, how am I supposed to know how much to pay unless he sends me the form he got from HMRC detailing this? He has finally sent the HMRC forms from 2015 and 2016 to me, as of last Friday 20 October 2017, which is the first time I have laid eyes on them. I have been asking him about this for 18 months on and off and have been told that I can wait and use my CIS contributions to offset the CT bill.

I am not an accountant, obviously, so I follow the advice he gives me. When you go to the mechanic are you supposed to know as much about the car as he does?

Essentially I now know my accountant is not doing the job as I require it so I shall take my business elsewhere.

But when you buy a car, it's registered to you, not the mechanic.

I know lots of people like to register their companies to an accountant's address, etc, but unless you are paying the accountant to forward everything to you then you run the risk of not seeing everything. If the accountant is the only one to see the information, then maybe it's best to give them access to your business account and make them responsible for paying the money as well.

[FrontEnder]

I have been fined a small amount for a late return. I do not have an issue with this from HMRC's side and I have paid the bill.

The question I had was a simple one, or so I thought. Where do HMRC send the details of how much CT is owed?

The answer to your simple question is they will send it to the address they have registered for the limited company. So in your case, it seems to be your accountant. The question is simple, but from the rest of your posts it's clear that there is more you need to know than the answer to that question.

If HMRC only notify the LC registered office, which is my accountant's firm and not my home address, how am I supposed to know how much to pay unless he sends me the form he got from HMRC detailing this?

You should know when your accounts are due and any other deadlines for payment of taxes (VAT, PAYE etc.) This is legally your responsibility and not your accountants. This is the first google result to "when is my corporation tax due".

You must pay your Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period. Your accounting period is usually your financial year, but you may have 2 accounting periods in the year you set up your company.

Asking your account "on and off for 18 months" doesn't sound like you've been particularly pro active.

Your mechanic example is irrelevant. You are a director of a company and that comes with legal responsibilities. Bad advice from an accountant doesn't absolve you of them, as harsh as that may seem.

[Ch0pper]

Your accountant sounds incompetent. I'm afraid that your responsibility as a Director doesn't excuse that. We all know that we have to pay Corporation Tax, but it does sound as though you have buried your head in the sand here. You could always have called HMRC and got the info.

Did you not review the Company Tax Return?

Well, perhaps foolishly I thought I could trust his advice and competence. You don't have a dog and bark yourself, after all.
I had no head buried anywhere, I have/had the money to cover it and have paid it, I was more trying to ascertain blame rather than fault. It could have been my accountant to blame or it could have been myself. But as I have requested the information from him for an 18 month period that I only received on Friday I am happy that it's on his shoulders and while I am liable for the bill for his incompetence I can now transfer my business elsewhere.