Tax Doesn’t Have to be Taxing

Missed the 31 October deadline for tax self-assessments? Use Davenports, we file everything electronically giving you until 31 January 2010.

Find out more about our taxation and accountancy services.

A Month Less to File Your Accounts

As part of the Companies Act 2006 implementations, the filing dates for accounts will be reduced from 10 months to 9 months for private companies and from 7 months to 6 months for PLCs.  This will come into effect if you have your accounting period beginning on or after 6th April 2008.

Companyaccounting periodstart date	Companyaccountingreference date	Deadline for delivery of AnnualAccounts to Companies House
Example for accounting period starting before 6 April 2008
1 April 2008	31 March 2009	31 January 2010	31 October 2009
Example for accounting period starting on or after 6 April 2008
6 April 2008	5 April 2009	5 January 2010	5 October 2009
1 May 2008	30 April 2009	31 January 2010	31 October 2009
1 March 2009	28 February 2010	30 November 2010	31 August 2010

 

It’s well worth remembering, because you will face a penalty if you don’t file your annual accounts by the due date.

The penalties are increasing too. From 1st February 2009 new late filing penalties will be applied

Length of delay in filing	Penalty -Private Company/LLP	Penalty -PLC
Not more than one month	£150	£750
More than one month but not more than three months	£375	£1500
More than three months but not more than six months	£750	£3000
More than six months	£1500	£7500

 

Where a company filed their accounts late the previous year, then the penalty will be doubled.

14 Day Concession

Section 706 of the Companies Act 1985 required companies to deliver documents in a legible form and allowed 14 days from the date of any rejection letter to re-file them. There is no replacement in the Companies Act 2006 for this section and so it will cease to exist from 1st October 2009. A company will therefore no longer have 14 days from the date of the rejection letter in which to amend and return accounts in an acceptable format.

For help with your accounts or filing them online simply complete the form below, and one of the Davenports team will get back in touch with you.

Accountancy Request

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6. Help!
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Final Tax Return Reminder for London, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire

The 31 January tax return deadline is just around the corner, so if you haven’t sent your return to HMRC yet, you need to act quickly to avoid a £100 penalty.

Nine million people across the country have to file a tax return - including around

• 58,000 with a Croydon postcode
• 68,000 with a Slough postcode
• 81,000 with a Twickenham postcode
• 46,000 with a Watford postcode.
• 107,000 with an Oxford postcode.
• 76,000 with a Milton Keynes postcode (Bucks)
• 139,000 with a Reading postcode (Berks).

If you haven’t yet filed your 2007/08 tax return, you must send it online to HMRC by the 31 January deadline - file on paper and you could receive a £100 penalty, as the new 31 October paper-filing deadline has now passed.

The number of online returns received by HMRC hit 3 million this week - a 39 per cent increase on this time last year - and they now outnumber paper returns for the first time ever. This includes 620 people who filed their tax return online on Christmas Day.

Davenports file all their tax returns online, so there’s still time to avoid a penalty.

Don’t forget, 31 January is also the deadline for paying any tax you owe for the 2007/08 tax year.

If you need help with your tax return contact us now.

Moira Stuart in New Tax Adverts

Moira Stuart has been officially unveiled as the new face of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) Self Assessment advertising campaign.

The well-known newsreader and presenter will star in ads publicising the new 31 October deadline for paper tax returns, as well as the 31 January deadline for online tax returns.

The new TV ads, feature Moira popping up in unexpected places to remind people of the deadline dates - the first will run in October, with the second following in January. Moira will also be appearing on billboards and posters, and in press and online ads, encouraging people to beat the deadlines and file on time.

A new video podcast, launched by HMRC, features Moira talking about her new role, the October TV ad, and help and advice on filling in your tax return. It’s available free from HMRC’s podcast pages at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/podcasts or the campaign website at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/selfassessment or from YouTube at http://uk.youtube.com.

Launching the campaign, HMRC’s Head of Marketing, Simon Vessey, said:

“It’s great news that Moira’s fronting our Self Assessment campaign. She’s a household name that people naturally tune into and trust, and that’s essential when you’re communicating a major change like the 31 October paper filing deadline.”

If advice or assistance in completing your tax return or any personal tax matter, why not contact us and see how Davenports can help.

Changes for Tour Operators offering Travel Insurance

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2007 [SI 2007 3510] legislation will effect travel firms such as travel agents, tour operators, coach tour operators, airlines, ferry companies, train companies and accommodation providers. All those in the UK offering travel insurance when they make travel arrangements for customers.

From 1 January 2009, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will regulate connected travel insurance (CTI).

Travel firms often sell CTI alongside a holiday or other related travel. CTI may cover a single short or extended trip, or an annual multi-trip.

You will not be allowed to carry on CTI activities after 1 January 2009, if you have not applied to the FSA for authorisation by 15 November 2008, or become an appointed representative (AR).

This means that if you wish to continue to sell or be involved in CTI, you will need to decide whether to:

• Apply to the FSA for authorisation to sell CTI.
• Enter into an agreement with a principal already authorised by the FSA to act as their AR or an introducer appointed representative (IAR). Principals will hold regulatory responsibility for their ARs and IARs, who will not require separate authorisation.
• Stop selling CTI, in which case you will not need to be regulated by the FSA.
• Simply provide leaflets or other information about travel insurance without taking any further steps to arrange or sell CTI. In this case, you should refer to the FSA’s perimeter guidance manual to check whether you qualify for exclusion from regulation.

Authorisation timetable

You must make your application for authorisation on or before 15 November 2008 to benefit from “interim authorisation”. Only firms that meet this deadline can lawfully carry on selling CTI until the FSA makes a decision about their application, or until 31 December 2009.

Find information on CTI for travel firms on the FSA website.

Find out whether your CTI activities require regulation on the FSA website.

Download the policy statement and final CTI rules from the FSA website (PDF).

Tax Deadlines Service

Simply sign up to our eNewsletter and we will create a calendar of your key tax deadlines for the next twelve months, which can be printed or saved for future reference. You can also sign up to receive regular email alerts as each date approaches.

The interactive tool takes couple of seconds to complete. So join today!