Accountants

[currie123]

Hi does anyone else pay a yearly insurance premium to protect against professional fees(accountants) if investigated by Hmrc? My accountant trying to sell me a £320 one off payment to cover all cost if I got investigated .

Stewart

 

[Guest77]

Hi does anyone else pay a yearly insurance premium to protect against professional fees(accountants) if investigated by Hmrc? My accountant trying to sell me a £320 one off payment to cover all cost if I got investigated .

Stewart

Yes I used to, it was about 70 quid plus vat and it would cover all costs if investigated Stewart, HTHs.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Ask Terry!

 

[currie123]

My head says I should pay but it seems a lot of cash for a what if and if they are doing job correctly should I really be getting investigated?! Accountant must be low on cash and thinking of money making schemes!

 

[Octopus]

WTF.

If you pay an accountant to check your books and do your tax return why would you need an insurance policy? Should HMRC come knocking on my door, I will direct them to my accountant. JMO

 

[Guest77]

WTF.

If you pay an accountant to check your books and do your tax return why would you need an insurance policy? Should HMRC come knocking on my door, I will direct them to my accountant. JMO

If HMRC come knocking at your door, you can hand them your books for their perusual. If they find discrepincies then you could ask them to speak to your accountant. Why would your accountant who only works out your taxes on information he is given by you spend hours working with HMRC on your behalf for no payment from you?

 

[Octopus]

If HMRC come knocking at your door, you can hand them your books for their perusual. If they find discrepincies then you could ask them to speak to your accountant. Why would your accountant who only works out your taxes on information he is given by you spend hours working with HMRC on your behalf for no payment from you?

My accountant doesn't just do my tax return, he checks my books from top to bottom! I hand him a PDF of all the transactions from Quickbook and the paperwork to look at......

 

[Guest77]

Yes but you could keep things from him, he can only work out your taxes and vat etc from information you give him, unless you employ an accountant who audits your accounts the responsibility is on your shoulders not his. A lot of accountants have deals regarding this insurance, the OPs accountant is ripping him off IMO, A fee of around 70 quid which covers all legal and accountants costs during Investigations, is acceptable for a business IMO, and remember HMRC can investigate you and cause all sorts of problems even though your legit, and you cannot claim any money back from them, your accountant will need to be paid if he helps you with dealing with the HMRC. Of course you could always have your accounts audited, it will cost around 4k a week to employ an accountant full time for that pleasure though.

 

[Octopus]

Yes but you could keep things from him, he can only work out your taxes and vat etc from information you give him, unless you employ an accountant who audits your accounts the responsibility is on your shoulders not his. A lot of accountants have deals regarding this insurance, the OPs accountant is ripping him off IMO, A fee of around 70 quid which covers all legal and accountants costs during Investigations, is acceptable for a business IMO, and remember HMRC can investigate you and cause all sorts of problems even though your legit, and you cannot claim any money back from them, your accountant will need to be paid if he helps you with dealing with the HMRC. Of course you could always have your accounts audited, it will cost around 4k a week to employ an accountant full time for that pleasure though.

My accountant gets all my books, paperwork, bank statements from my business account, etc, etc

Last year he said I was being "too honest"

 

[Guest77]

My accountant gets all my books, paperwork, bank statements from my business account, etc, etc

Last year he said I was being "too honest"

I don't doubt it mate, all I am saying is your accountant will only assist HMRC for so long should they decide to investigate you, if they go around his office and take up most of a day of his time then ask him to send them other documents etc by e-mail or fax at a later date he will want to be paid, unless your a very lucky fella, they usually charge 100 quid an hour, a days lost time plus an hour or two at a different time could be a grand plus vat to find. There is no need for this insurance of course, but for a small fee it is worth it when you are turning over a lot of money and have a lot of paper work, should an investigation occur all costs will be covered, a lot of businesses have this insurance, the one man band not so many.

 

[Octopus]

HMRC can come and knock at my door ANY TIME. Nothing to hide... unlike half the tradespeople around the burger van at Wickes every monring in the week!

 

[Guest77]

HMRC can come and knock at my door ANY TIME. Nothing to hide... unlike half the tradespeople around the burger van at Wickes every monring in the week!

Well thats fine if you can afford to spend hours with them and not be at work, I know of several people, not electricians but trades who lost days dealing with HMRC. One also had a 10 grand tax bill stuck on him and it took months of time and effort to prove them wrong, he never recieved a penny back for the inconvenience and lost thousands in lost work whilst dealing with them. The insurance sorts all that out and compensates any third party help like solicitors and accountants as well, sometimes it is just not worth ignoring a 70 quid invoice for peace of mind, thats my last comment on it.

 

[Octopus]

Well thats fine if you can afford to spend hours with them and not be at work, I know of several people, not electricians but trades who lost days dealing with HMRC. One also had a 10 grand tax bill stuck on him and it took months of time and effort to prove them wrong, he never recieved a penny back for the inconvenience and lost thousands in lost work whilst dealing with them. The insurance sorts all that out and compensates any third party help like solicitors and accountants as well, sometimes it is just not worth ignoring a 70 quid invoice for peace of mind, thats my last comment on it.

Are you sure??? lol

 

[davesparks]

My tradesman insurance package covers costs associated with hmrc investigation.

 

[Sparky Pat]

Membership of FSB will also give you protection against a tax investigation.

 

[currie123]

Thanks to all for input, my particular accountant asking for £320 payment as a one off for as long as you remain his client, don't suppose it's too bad if you are happy with his service, if not then looks a bit pricey.

 

[JD6400]

Membership of FSB will also give you protection against a tax investigation.

This is one of the main reasons that we are member's with them .