Tax planning and optimisation

Your tax burden is mostly decided not by how you calculate tax but by how the business is built: which regime you are on, how relationships with people are documented, which contracts the money passes through. Changing that after the fact is almost always more expensive than choosing correctly at the start.

We do not model an abstract saving. We model concrete options on your actual turnover and show the difference as a figure. If there is no difference, we say so.

What we look at

• whether the tax regime you are on matches your volume and your activity;
• whether you are approaching a threshold that would force a change of regime or VAT registration;
• how work with people is documented – employees, sole traders, service contracts – and the risk each carries;
• the structure of contracts with key counterparties and how it moves the point at which a tax liability arises;
• whether you are using reliefs and rates you are entitled to but do not apply;
• the accounting policy: decisions costing money every month are often buried in it.

When planning pays most

Before a business or a new line is registered, while the choice of regime still costs nothing. Before volumes grow to the point where the single-tax ceiling is in sight. Before starting foreign trade. Before taking on staff. And before any large deal where the tax depends on how the contract is drafted.

What we do not do

We do not build arrangements that survive only as long as nobody looks. Optimisation that cannot withstand an inspection is not a saving; it is a penalty deferred, with interest attached. We propose only what can be shown to an inspector and supported with documents.

You end up with the options costed, a list of what needs changing and the order to do it in. Where a decision requires changes to contracts or constitutional documents, we handle those too.

What the fee depends on

A single question on one point and a full review of a business’s tax model are different jobs. Scope follows how many legal entities and sole traders are involved, whether there is foreign trade, how many contracts need reviewing and whether the resulting changes then have to be documented.

We quote after a short conversation, once it is clear what actually needs examining. If the review shows the current model is already the right one, we say that.

Common questions

How is this different from a scheme?

Every decision can be shown to an inspector. Planning works with what the law permits outright: the choice of regime, the form of a contract, the moment income is recognised, the reliefs available. A scheme works with what the law forbids and depends on not being noticed.

How much can we save?

Honestly, it depends on how badly the present model fits the business. Sometimes the difference is tens of per cent of the tax burden; sometimes it is nothing. We calculate on your figures and show the result before you change anything.

Can we change tax regime mid-year?

In most cases a change takes effect from the start of a quarter and requires an application filed in advance. In some situations the change is compulsory and immediate – exceeding the income ceiling, for instance. Which is exactly why the ceiling is better seen coming than discovered afterwards.

Do you implement the changes or only advise?

We implement them. Where a decision needs changes to constitutional documents, contracts or the accounting policy, we prepare and carry them out.