Harnett Accontants

Tag: accountants in kensington

  • An Introduction To

    Tax Insights

    An Introduction To

    Hello! And Welcome to the very first Harnett Accountants’ blog. Every Monday to Friday we will bring you daily news up-dates accompanied by the occasional tax and business related tips.

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    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    We will also bring you regular videos by our founder, Damien Harnett, filmed at Teddington Television Studios. These videos will be accountancy nuggets to help you run your business more smoothly.

    But before we get into all the nitty gritty, we would just like to give you some background on how we became established accountants in Richmond.

    Harnett Accountants is a firm of Accountants in Richmond borough – based at their Teddington office – founded by Damien Harnett in 2009 after spending 24 years in the practice running businesses in the public sector and spending 4 years as a Senior Manager with Deloitte in the City of London. Harnett Accountants work with a network of specialists in IT, Legal and HR and are backed by a team of 7 highly professional staff members from within the industry; providing book-keeping, year-end accounts, VAT, Corporation Tax, income Tax and Payroll services. Furthermore, as we are authorised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales we can conduct Audits.

    We hope you find our accountancy tips usefull. Remember we’re always just an email away. So keep watching this space for daily updates tips and hints from the accountants in Richmond who mean business.

    So follow our posts and together we can unlock those hidden profits!

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
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    Need help with VAT returns and compliance?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • The Most Tax Efficient Car For You!

    Tax Insights

    The Most Tax Efficient Car For You!

    As accountants in Richmond we are fully aware of those traffic jams that can pile up as you near West London.

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    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    There are several cars with low CO2 emissions of no more than 110g/km which can help keep those car Taxes and running costs down; such as, the Mini Cooper, Toyota Prius, Smart car and Fiat 500.

    If you purchase one of these as company car brand new you can claim a tax deduction for the full cost in the year of purchase and for all running costs.

    If the car is provided for private use or for a family member your employee will be taxed on 10% of the list price of the car for petrol cars and 13% for diesel. The company can also pick up the full cost of all servicing and insurance for the car with no extra tax charges.

    Harnett Accountants in Richmond are always here to help. If you would like to hear more tips on how to stay ontop of your accounts then why not ?

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with VAT returns and compliance?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • What Are The Highest Penalties For Late Tax Returns?

    Tax Insights

    What Are The Highest Penalties For Late Tax Returns?

    As Accountants in Richmond we are often asked this question, ‘what are the highest penalties for late tax returns’.

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    All self-assessment Tax returns must be submitted to HMRC in paper format by the end of January each year. In prior years you would receive a penalty of £100 if presented after this date; however, since 2011 this has slightly changed with additional penalties receivable with the initial £100 penalty. These are, if you are anything more than three months late submitting a daily basis of £10 per day will be given up to the maximum of £900. If your self-assessment Tax is over six months late you will receive a penalty calculated as the higher of £300 and 5% of the tax already due. This will continue every six months that passes.

    It is important to remember that when referring to late partnership tax return, these penalties will apply to each partner in the partnership.

    Additionally if you’re late paying the correct amount of your self-assessment Tax a further penalty will be given. This penalty is calculated as 5% of the outstanding tax due at the following intervals: 30 days late, 6 months late and 12 months late.

    Harnett Accountants in Richmond are here to help. Stay tuned for more accountants tips soon. Why not click on the RSS feed button so you never miss one.

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with accounting and tax?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Paying Paye On Time – Tax Advice From Your Richmond Accountants

    Tax Insights

    Paying Paye On Time – Tax Advice From Your Richmond Accountants

    As accountants in Richmond we are fully aware of the lack of employment in today’s climate and how money is incredibly tight for a lot of us out there. Yet, even for the lucky few of us with an income, we still need to remember to pay those PAYE and other Payroll deductions to HMRC. Even though we all know you would much prefer to be out in the sun!

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    Businesses are encouraged to pay taxes electronically to HMRC; however, in October 2013 this will become compulsory for all companies. At present HMRC do not operate the Faster Payment Service (FPS) for any of their accounts, meaning you must allow at least three working days before your payment is processed. This means electronic payments of PAYE must leave your bank on 19th to arrive on the 22nd of the month, assuming none of those days falls on a weekend/bank holiday.

    To avoid PAYE payments going missing Harnett Accountants in Richmond recommend including the Accounts Office (AO) reference with the year and month the sent payment relates to, at the end of the reference without any spaces. For example, PAYE for month 01 in 2012/13 (due 22 May 2012 for electronic payments), add 1301 to the AO ref.

    If you would like any more information on looking after your accounts then stay up-to-date with our daily blogs for tips and hints on keeping those accounts straight and narrow. Additionally you could .

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
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    Need help with payroll management?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Capital Allowances Tips From Your Richmond Accountants.

    Tax Insights

    Capital Allowances Tips From Your Richmond Accountants.

    Although the weather is starting to improve, as accountants in Richmond we are more than aware of the public’s desire to get away to that perfect holiday home. However, did you know that if you owned a property that was eligible to be let as a furnished holiday home (FHL) for at least 105 days per year, that you could claim property capital allowance on the following fixtures!

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    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    – Bathroom fittings – Dishwashers – Fridge-freezer – Central heating – Fitted carpets – Curtains – Fixed furniture – Swimming pool

    If your property does qualify as a FHL you can also claim tax relief for all of the equipment included in and attached to the property (which qualifies as integral features). FHL properties have advantageous tax rules that permit capital allowances to be claimed for the cost of equipment used in the building, which is not the case for other let residential property. If your property is used for private purposes your capital allowance claim must reflect that private use and be sent for approval with your yearly tax return.

    If you don’t claim, you don’t get the tax relief. Harnett Accountants in Richmond are here to advice and inform so stay tuned for more helpful accounting tips. Or why not ?!

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with VAT returns and compliance?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Employers Or Personal Pension? You Accountants In West London Have The Answer.

    Tax Insights

    Employers Or Personal Pension? You Accountants In West London Have The Answer.

    While our 7 staff members diligently serve the Small and Medium sized businesses of West London, we ask them to relay our clients’ concerns and questions. One of our accountants in Twickenham recently helped with this question. Is it more efficient for the employer or the employee to contribute to their pension?

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    Our accountant in Twickenham responded thus:

    Who should pay contributions into your pension fund: you or your employer? If you control the company you work for, the most tax efficient solution is almost certainly for the company to pay as your employer.

    The company can set a reasonable level of pension contributions against its profits subject to corporation tax (at 20%, 24% or 25%), and it pays no employers’ NI charges on those pension contributions. A ‘reasonable level’ is where the salary plus benefits, including pension contributions, form a commercially reasonable remuneration package for the work done. As long as the total package is set at a commercial level or below, the company can receive tax relief for the remuneration payments.

    If you pay pension contributions as an employee, you need to extract the funds from your company. If you do this by a salary, this creates an income tax charge in your hands. The company receives tax relief on salary payments but it must pay employers’ NICs at 13.8%, with no upper limit. You are also subject to NICs on your salary at 12%, which then reduces to 2% on salary over £42,475 per year. So unlike pension contributions paid directly by the company, salary payments carry NICs of up to 25.8%.

    If you take dividends from the company to pay your pension contributions, there are no NICs payable by you or the company. But the company does not receive tax relief on the payment of dividends. So the only tax relief due on the pension contributions is due at your marginal tax rate, on up to 100% of your earned income, capped by your annual allowance (see below). Dividends are not earned income, so if you only take dividends and no salary or other employment benefits from your company, the tax relief on your pension contributions is limited to £3,600 per year, which is the maximum for a person with no earned income.

    Your annual allowance caps the amount of your pension contributions which attract tax relief. If this allowance is exceeded by pension contributions paid by you or your employer, you will pay a tax charge at your marginal rate. The annual allowance is now £50,000 per year, but this is extended by unused allowances brought forward from the previous three tax years. Thus the exact amount of annual allowance will be different for each individual, depending on his or her pattern of pension contributions.

    What This Means For You

    We can help advise you on this for your own specific circumstances.

    As with our accountants in Twickenham, if you’d like advice on any business matters, we offer free consultation. Just contact our accountant in Richmond

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with corporation tax planning?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Ask Your Accountants West London Business Claiming Back Vat

    Tax Insights

    Ask Your Accountants West London Business Claiming Back Vat

    As accountants in West London we know that money is hard to hold onto, which is why our favourite moments are when you can claim back that sneaky VAT charge. Our team of accountants in west London are often asked by private companies about this matter and if there are any tips/hints that could be passed on.

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    For example, recently a client from Wimbledon asked one of our wimbledon accountants if he could reclaim a VAT charge on the cost of some equipment he had purchased even though his company wouldn’t become VAT registered until later this year.

    Harnett Accountants in Richmond were pleased to inform him that any VAT on equipment or goods purchased 3 years prior to his VAT registration would be applicable to claim back, as long as they were still held at the date it became effective and the original invoices were provided. Additionally we told him how he could reclaim the VAT paid on any of his VAT returns within the first 3 years of becoming VAT registered.

    This was great news for our client and his business. If you are in a similar situation then why not contact Harnett Accountants or stay tuned for more daily blogs on all your accountancy needs from your favourite accountants in Richmond.

    Remember we offer a free, no-obligation consultation from one of our team of accountants in West London where you can get any questions you have answered.

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with VAT returns and compliance?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Our Twickenham Accountants Office Tell Us It’s Ok To “question That Taxman”

    Tax Insights

    Our Twickenham Accountants Office Tell Us It’s Ok To “question That Taxman”

    As Accountants in Richmond we have noticed that, like the rest of the country, in the Twickenham/Hampton/Teddington area people are very reluctant to question the Taxman when they see something that doesn’t add up.

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    One of our clients recently contacted our Twickenham Accountants office to say they’d received two Tax calculations although she hadn’t completed tax returns for those years due to short-term contract employment. Harnett Accountants advised her to first check the tax computations against her prior P60/P45 forms and any payslips for those tax years in question. We can help with this. From completing this it was clear that the Tax affairs of our client from Kingston were in order, meaning she could ask HMRC to write-off the tax underpaid from that year under Extra Statutory Concession A19. If it had transpired that the Taxman was correct, our client could have asked for the Tax payment to be collected over the next 36 months to ease the process.

    Harnett Accountants in Richmond are more than happy to advise you on your Tax repayments, offering a free one-hour, no obligation consultation. Alternatively, keep your eyes peeled for more daily blogs from your favourite accountants in West London.

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with accounting and tax?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Tax Efficiency Tip From Your Accountants In West London

    Tax Insights

    Tax Efficiency Tip From Your Accountants In West London

    As Accountants in West London we are often asked by business owners about tax efficiency. For instance, when extracting the profits from your company. And with the help from Harnett Accountants in Richmond you can minimise the tax and NI bill.

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    The Taxman prefers you to take all company profits in the form of a salary or bonus as these carry the highest NI charges and guarantees tax to be deducted under PAYE. We recommend that you pay yourself a smaller salary that is covered by your personal allowance and avoids your company/self paying NIC’s (£7,072 for 2011/12).

    Any further amount extracted can be taken in the form of dividends. If the gross dividend is less than the basic rate of £35,000 you will pay no further income tax or NI charges on said income. However, larger dividend payments will create an additional tax charge of 25% (for 40% taxpayers) of the net dividend or 36.1% (for 50% taxpayers).

    If you don’t need the income now, you can extract the profits in the form of employer pension contributions – however you will have to pay income tax on the pension when you eventually receive it. You can also charge rent for assets your company own and use, whether it’s real property (land) or intellectual property (patents). Additionally, if you lend funds to the company it can pay you a commercial rate of interest on that loan free of NI charges.

    If you would like to know more on this subject then Harnett Accountants in West London offer a free, one hour, no-obligation consultation. And keep reading our daily blogs on all your helpful accountancy tips from your favourite accountants in Richmond.

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with property tax advice?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.

  • Harnett Accountants In Kingston Answer Your Queries

    Tax Insights

    Harnett Accountants In Kingston Answer Your Queries

    A client came to our Harnett Accountants in Kingston in kingston who specialise in HR and Legal at with this query.

    💡
    Reviewed for 2026/27: All tax figures and HMRC rules in this article reflect current guidance for the 2026/27 tax year.

    Key Considerations

    “I have recently prepared all our companies accounts and submitted them to the Companies House and Tax Office. However, the Taxman sent back my company’s accounts and tax return saying they were in the wrong format. I’m confused. What have I done wrong?”

    Harnett Accountants in Kingston informed their client that since April 2011 all company accounts must be submitted online in iXBRL format. Offering our free hour no obligation consultation Harnett Accountants in Kingston were able to help the client to get their accounts back in order and submit it online.

    If you are interested in speaking to one of our members of staff then don’t be afraid to contact us through the contact information page on our website, alternatively you can .

    📌 Important: Tax rules change regularly. Always verify current figures at gov.uk/hmrc or speak to a qualified accountant.
    📞
    Need help with accounting and tax?
    Harnett and Co are ICAEW chartered accountants in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. We give clear, practical advice to businesses and individuals across West London and Surrey. Book a free consultation today.