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Reducing Tax

Our constant focus for every client is to reduce tax by reviewing the past and planning for the future.

Call today to find out how we can help you 01634 731390
Reducing Tax Friend & Grant Accountants London Kent UK

Looking to save tax?

When you mention ‘accountancy’ to anyone, thoughts usually swing to how to save tax. As much as we dislike taxes, they are a reality and a necessity in today’s world. The UK national debt is over £1.8 trillion and rising! As you’d expect, HMRC are closing tax loopholes and looking at new initiatives to raise tax revenues. The latest initiative is Making Tax Digital (MTD).

 

Our constant focus for every client is reducing their tax, whether that’s for an individual or a company.

An accountant’s traditional role is to go back over the past year, create the year-end accounts and establish the tax position: payments, reductions or tax refunds. This focuses on the past to the exclusion of forward planning.

At Friend & Grant we believe that the very best tax advice comes from looking forward as well as in the rear view mirror. We take the time to understand future plans, targets and goals as well as the past, so you can be sure that you’re getting the best tax advice for you or your business.

Our team of tax experts will constantly review your business, making sure you have the most efficient structure for your current needs. We know that business needs and concerns change over time; that’s why we focus on relevant tax advice at every stage of your business.

Businesses: Startups, Growing and Established

  • We will reduce your tax, making sure you pay the legal minimum
  • We are proactive tax planners, looking forward to plan ahead, as well as backwards to take into account historic results. We’ll discuss how we structure your remuneration package to minimise future tax liabilities. The pre-year-end tax planning starts at the end of your Q3, when we review the profits to date, and establish what actions can be taken before the company’s year-end to reduce potential company tax liabilities.
  • We’ll make sure you claim for everything you’re entitled to and explain what you can’t claim for.
  • If you’re carrying out Research & Development, our expert taxation services team can advise you about Research and Developmenttax relief and tax credits (R&D) and prepare the claims for you.

High-Net-Worth Individuals

  • We will manage your annual accounts, prepare your annual tax return, however complex, to ensure you pay the correct tax, and give you plenty of notice of what tax to pay and when. That means you avoid any late filing or late payment penalties and have the maximum time to plan for your liabilities.
  • We will advise how to reduce future tax bills by using claims, reliefs and investments. We’ll look at your pension position, ensuring you’re taking advantage of the generous tax concessions. If you are more risk-tolerant, VCT, EIS and SEIS investments shouldn’t be overlooked as they have substantial tax benefits.
  • We are experts in estate planning/inheritance tax planning. Our ethos is ‘IHT is a voluntary tax – so why pay it?’
  • Capital gains tax advice and projections to reduce the tax payable on future disposal of your assets is part of our accounting and taxation services.

Property Investors & Developers

  • We will prepare full historic rental accounts, including a balance sheet, so that you know what profit you made and the value of your property portfolio. We’ll incorporate the figures into your self-assessment tax return; advising you what tax to pay and when.
  • We will make sure you claim for everything you’re entitled to, including capital allowances where appropriate.
  • We will review the legal structure of your rental business, because in many cases considerable tax savings can be achieved simply by changing the structure.
  • We can forecast future liabilities, incorporating any changes in legislation already announced, so that you have a clearer picture of what you’ll need to pay and when. This will help you make important decisions about future property investments. For example the change in tax relief on mortgage interest has already proved of enormous value for many current property investment and development clients.
  • We can advise on the specialist tax rules relating to more unusual rental situations, such as investments in Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) and houses of multiple occupation (HMO), as well as the tax rules relating to the current craze of Airbnb.
  • We are specialists in capital gains tax, preparing projections of tax payable on the future sale of investment properties across a range of situations.
  • We can advise on inheritance tax (IHT)/estate planning to ensure that your properties stay in the family and don’t have to be sold to pay the tax man!

We look to save tax for every client we work with. If you’d like to save tax then get in touch and book a 60 minute Discovery Meeting with the team.

D Ferrers
Higham, Kent

Friend & Grant are a good company with whom to do business.  They do not seek to confuse you with “accountancy jargon” but explain what I need to know in plain English.  They take a sincere interest in my business, are always efficient, enthusiastic and a joy to work with.

Total Machining Solutions R&D Case Study
Paul Beckett TMS

Paul Beckett from Total Machining Solutions, talked to us about his experience in claiming Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits from HMRC with our help. Here’s Paul’s story….

“I first heard about R&D tax credits in one of our planning meetings when Mark raised the subject. He explained what they were and how they worked, but I wasn’t keen to move forward. I just felt as though it would be a lot of work for a ‘maybe’ and I was already very busy. The following year Mark tried again and got pretty much the same response.”

“But if I’d known then what I know now I would have leapt at the opportunity.”

“In the end, it was a piece of direct-mail from another company trying to sell me R&D tax credits that finally made me pick up the phone to Mark.”

“Then it all happened quickly. Slava came to see me, so I could show and explain to him what we do. He asked lots of questions to fully understand our work and said to leave everything to him.”

“I received the project outlines for the three projects Slava had identified.

  1. Design and bespoke manufacturing of a new joint connections for the filmmaking industry.
  1. Design of a solution (jig) for a skateboard sublimation. Whilst this R&D project failed we were still able to claim the R&D expenditure.
  1. Material resistance for precise CNC milling. We’d developed a unique freezing method to harden the modelling foam so that it could be cut to the correct tolerances.”

“Two projects worked and one didn’t, but we were able to put in a claim for all three.”

“Slava worked his magic and the claim was accepted by HMRC. A few weeks later we received just under £10,000 tax repayment and that was just for the year to 2016.”

“We’ve now submitted a further claim for another £10,000 repayment to cover an R&D work for the year 2017. We’ve other projects for this financial  year on the go that should also qualify for R&D tax relief.”

Paul summed up by saying, “The beauty of the R&D tax credits scheme when your accountant prepares it, is they already have all of the numbers. I’d be surprised if it took more than three hours of my time. But a genuine surprise to find out that I had a £10,000 refund and that we’re looking at the same for last year and the current financial year.”

“As a business we won’t hesitate to carry out R&D, when the government is prepared to reward the time effort and innovation we put in.”

If you’ve had to work to solve a problem in your company then talk to your client manager or give Friend & Grant a call on (01634) 731390 and we’ll see if we can help you too.

Who is this for?

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We’ll work in partnership with you to help grow your business. We’ll help focus on your goals and aspirations, as well as advise you on how to overcome the various challenges you face, from managing your finances to creating a business plan.

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We provide a fast, attentive and quality service to help minimise tax liabilities for high net worth individuals. Every client has a tax manager focused on protecting their wealth while it grows.

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Established Businesses

If you own an established business, we’ll help you plan the next chapter of your success story. We’re experienced in financial planning, helping you to reduce tax and maximise profits to achieve your business goals.

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A large or rapidly expanding property portfolio needs careful management. We can help you to maximise your profits while ensuring you avoid the numerous pitfalls of the sector.

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Are you hungry for success? If you run a small to medium size business and you want to grow your sales, increase profitability and pay less tax then you have come to the right place.