With the January 31st deadline fast approaching for the self-employed to file their income tax self-assessments, many will be busily working out their incomings and outgoings for the year.
Many will no doubt be wishing they had engaged the services of a tax accountant to help save time, keep better records, have the relevant details to hand and identify ways in which tax savings can be made.
It is not just that failure to get everything together to submit the filing by the deadline can lead to a fine. There is also the danger that self-employed people can overlook a number of ways of legitimately saving on tax.
Most importantly, there are many ways to claim tax relief for job expenses.
For example, if you have to buy your own equipment, be it a vehicle, materials, tools, electronic devices like laptops or mobile phones, personal protective equipment or clothing, the costs of these can be claimed for.
You can also claim for working from home if this is relevant, which of course will have applied to many people in these Covid times. This includes home expenses such as electricity use.
Other expenses, such as travel or overnight accommodation, can also be included. All these costs will be deductable expenses that have to be taken out of your turnover to leave you with a lower taxable profit.
A skilled accountant will be able to help you identify these things that you can claim for, and also ensure you aren’t wasting time claiming for things you can’t get back.
If you are relatively new to freelancing – perhaps having decided on a career change during the pandemic – you may have gone without an accountant thus far. But if you want to grow, spend more of your time on what you’re good at and less on admin, and to take on employees, having an expert to deal with your tax and other financial matters will be an invaluable move.