Business

Name: Swindells Chartered Accountants
Address: Wilson House, 48 Brooklyn Road, Seaford, East Sussex, BN25 2DX
Price range: ££

Common tax return mistakes made by SMEs

Filling in your tax return can be stressful; for most SMEs, it becomes one of the most stressful periods of the year. Innocent mistakes can lead to hefty fines and greater future scrutiny from HMRC, both of which you want to avoid. As such, here are four of the most common tax return mistakes made by SMEs, according to our experts, that you need to watch out for and avoid.

the workers round a table having drinks and working swindells east sussex accounting and tax

New rules for declaring self-employment income

The situation regarding self-employment and whether you should pay tax on your earnings can be very confusing. However, for the 2017-18 tax year (running from April 6 2017 to April 5 2018), HMRC have issued some new guidance which may make things easier to understand.

Setting up as a sole trader

When you decide to set up on your own; whether as a freelancer or a one-man band business, you need to be aware of your tax responsibilities. Not only that but you also need to know what you can and can’t claim for, and how to keep your evidence.

Man looking at ipad tablet doing financial research

What is due diligence?

It’s likely that you’ve often heard the term due diligence referred to during your time in business, but do you know what it actually means? There are different types of due diligence, as it can refer to commercial, legal or financial activities.

Man sat at desk surrounded by laptop and paper swindells east sussex accounting

Why hire a chartered accountant?

When setting up a business, you may not have even considered hiring a chartered accountant, however, failing to take this into consideration could be one of the biggest mistakes you make upon starting out.

woman sat at a desk with a computer head in hands swindells east sussex tax and accounting advisors

3 key bookkeeping mistakes all SMEs should avoid

If you run your own SME, then chances are bookkeeping is not one of your favourite jobs! For many small business owners it is a necessary evil that takes up lots of valuable time. Of course, it is vital to do in order to keep you compliant with the law and make your annual tax returns easier to manage.