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- Fellow PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 25 posts
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Hello!
I am about to sit my self assessment exam, and would like to know how much members charge to do their clients' tax returns.
Many thanks,
Sarah
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Hi sarah
I would also like to know this, but I would think the best solution would be to charge per hour, after all filling in and doing the calculations for the forms might not take long, but gathering all the information required could take considerably longer.
Please inform how you get on in the exam, I failed my first attemp, but really need to have another go, especially now I have my own practice. I must admit I didn't find the self assesment booklet I bought from the ICB enough to pass all the required questions. This is my own opinion and you may find it different.
Good Luck
Howard
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I charge between £75 and £150 depending on the worked involved. I also use a tax return software package (Andica in my case) and this takes a lot of the stress out of one of my busiest times of year.
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Mr H said:
“Hi Howard
Howard I had the book to assist me but it is for 2010/11 the exam is 2009/10 where are some differences. Also it is not easy to download forms from HMRC that are from older years.
Good Luck
Alf
Edited at 18 May 2011 04:24 PM GMT
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 44 posts
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Hi
I quote clients in advance that I have a starting rate for an SA tax return of £50, and when I see how much work actually turns up I give a final figure. I never start work untill the client has agreed the price.
Be careful of just quoting a flat rate. I had someone ask me to so their return, she said that there wasn't much work involved, but she just didn't have the time to do the return herself. When it turned up, there were large bags of invoices and receipts. When I quoted her how much I would charge to do an entire year's complex bookkeeping (and at speed as she had already missed the tax deadline), as well as the tax return she decided not to use my services. If someone is not willing to pay me for my work, I'd rather know before I actually do the work.
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- Fellow PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 13 posts
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Mad Liz said:
“I charge between £75 and £150 depending on the worked involved. I also use a tax return software package (Andica in my case) and this takes a lot of the stress out of one of my busiest times of year.”
Hi Liz, great minds think alike!
I too charge this and I also use Andica, it works really well and is very good value at £70 for up to 25 clients.
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- Fellow PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 25 posts
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Thanks everyone for replying so quickly with your comments and suggestions, they have been very helpful indeed.
I think I will have a basic flat rate for a standard Tax Return (thinking of £100), ie the main return, an employment page and self employment (short version). I would then add say £25 for each additional page eg Capital Gains, Income from Property, full self employment page. Any bookkeeping needed beforehand, if the client didn’t have the figures ready for me, would be additional, and charged at my hourly rate.
I have had a quick look at the Andica software – it does look good value for money. Mad Liz and Carole – is the package upgraded from one year to the next, or do you have to buy a new one (at those prices I guess it’s the latter!)? Is it straight forward to use, and how does it relieve the stress? And (last question) how does it differ from using the HMRC website for submissions?
Howard – will let you know how I get on. I found the HMRC website useful as an additional source of material. Good luck with your exam.
Cheers everyone!
Sarah
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 12 posts
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I know I'm replying to an old thread but Sarah I wondered whether you do charge the amount you were thinking of and if it has worked well. I am just about to quote a new client and could do with a little advice.
Any other advice on pricing for self assessment tax returns would be gratefully received.
Suzanne
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Suz@nnesaid:
“I know I'm replying to an old thread but Sarah I wondered whether you do charge the amount you were thinking of and if it has worked well. I am just about to quote a new client and could do with a little advice.
Any other advice on pricing for self assessment tax returns would be gratefully received.
Suzanne”
I charge £60+ for a tax return depending on it's complexities. If it is just the core tax return, then the lower amount. However, if they are a sole trader with accounts, then £250+
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I have just finished running a campaign on facebook whereby I offered a self assessment for this year for £49. It could include 1 employment page and 1 property/self employment page. It seemed to go well. The idea was that it had to be booked before the end of February and the information must be available (for self employed must be as trial balance or I'll charge for bookkeeping too) by the end of April.
I hope to do it again this month and next month with the prices rising by £10 per month. The aim is to fill any downtime over the summer months.
Normally I charge anywhere from £60 to £200 for a self assessment.
Kris
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 12 posts
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Thanks for the advice. That sounds like a great plan Kris - good luck. I might try to do something similar in my area!
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For just a tax return I charge £100 for a non tax payer and £150 for a tax payer, which includes the final accounts as pdf and paper copy and tax return itself. It is based on having either a trial balance or monthly account totals in spreadsheet format. If that's not where we're starting, I add in bookkeeping work at my usual rate.
For existing bookkeeping customers I charge less, generally £75 depending on the circumstances, although I charge a monthly fee for most of my clients so it is in that fee rather than being separated out.
There seems to be a huge variation in price. I know I'm not the cheapest in the area, but I'm not far off. The record I have heard is from a new client, he is semi retired and has a simple business with very little going through it and the bookkeeping is done (now by me, before it was being done by someone else and was presented with depreciation etc included, there weren't any further adjustments necessary). His accountant has been charging him - wait for it - £1000+VAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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- Fellow PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 25 posts
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How interesting to see the different ways you all charge for doing your clients' self assessment, and they all make sense!
I have been charging £150 per self assessment, with any bookkeeping needed to get to the Trial Balance at my hourly rate. I haven't had the need yet to charge for the extra pages as they have all been relatively straight forward. The feedback I have received that it is much cheaper than any accountant!
Thank you all for your comments.
Cheers
Sarah
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Hello,
I have a practice with quite a large number of clients. Each year I have Self Assessments to file for a couple of partnerships and about 80 sole traders/partners or private individuals. I can thoroughly recommend the software I use. It is Taxcalc and the version I use is the ProSuite. Currently the 2011-12 version, which will be available to download soon is priced at £400 + VAT (£480 in total). As a customer who has been using this software for a few years I get a discount so the package costs me £420. The software covers most extra pages except Trusts. The software has won awards as the best tax software for the last 4-5 years and rightly so!
This version allows me to do unlimited client numbers and it does all the calculations for me. What my clients see is a pdf copy of their return, calculations and the payments due. I send this by e-mail for approval and they then send me back the 'authorisation to file' form. It certainly makes the whole operation look very professional.
The fee for the tax return is completely separate from any bookkeeping or accounts work I've done. I charge a flat fee of £100 per return and my clients think that is good value. For many of my clients it is what makes them profitable for me. Once you get used to the software and you bring forward the personal details from the previous year's return it is possible to complete a return in about 5 minutes. Starting from scratch most returns take about 20 minutes to do.
Chris
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 12 posts
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Plenty to think about here - thank you.
I have a new self employed client who owns a cafe. She is buying the cafe property using a personal mortgage. It is not used for any purpose other than the cafe. Can the mortgage payments be considered an allowable expense to reduce her profits? She has been advised in the past that they cannot be deducted.
Once again, any advice would be gratefuly received.
Kind regards
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Does the Cafe trade as a sole trader ?
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 12 posts
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Yes it trades as a sole trader.
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Hi Suzanne
In my humble opinion she would be able to offset the mortage interest relating to purchase of the cafe property as the expenses is being incurred wholly and soley for the busienss from what you have told us.
Kind regards
Stuart
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 12 posts
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Thanks Stuart. That was my feeling too but I don't know at the moment where she got her original advice from. I'm seeing her again on Friday so if anyone else has any different views before then please let me know.
Thank you.
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 6 posts
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Hi,
Does anyone know if there will be an updated version of the self Assessment book coming out soon or should I simply order the one for 10/11?
Thanks
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Stuart Wildmansaid:
“Hi Suzanne
In my humble opinion she would be able to offset the mortage interest relating to purchase of the cafe property as the expenses is being incurred wholly and soley for the busienss from what you have told us.
Kind regards
Stuart”
I think this is absolutely correct
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 12 posts
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Sharon, I was told by the ICB last week that a new book & exam in relation to 2011/12 would be released shortly once the new tax year starts. So it's maybe worth waiting a bit longer.
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- Member
- Practice Licence
- 106 posts
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Mad Lizsaid:
“I also use a tax return software package (Andica in my case)...”
Hi Liz
Would you recommend Andica?
I've just had a look at the online demo, and it seems to be good VFM. One question; when you complete the SA return for the same client in subsequent years, does the software remember bank account numbers, share purchases etc., or do you start each new year as if each client were new to you?
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I considered waiting! But didn't as ICB's advice was that the new book could take at least a couple of months.......
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 6 posts
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I think I will get the old version for now then at least I've got a chance of studying straight away. Holding on for the new version will take up too much of the new tax year where I could be doing self assessments and earning back the money spent on the book!
Edited at 16 Mar 2012 11:59 PM GMT
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