Tax and accounting guides for Hampshire business owners
Clear accountancy guides, HMRC updates and practical tax advice for small businesses in Winchester and Hampshire. No jargon, just useful content.
Guides on VAT, tips and tronc, CIS, payroll and paying yourself
What's Actually Driving Up Hospitality Costs — Not VAT
VAT on hospitality has sat at 20% since April 2022 — it hasn't moved. Wages, employer National Insurance and business rates relief have. What's genuinely changed since 2024/25, plus a calculator to run your own numbers against a VAT cut to 10%.
Christmas Gift Vouchers and VAT: Why a £50 Voucher May Have Already Cost You £8.33
There are two types of gift voucher for VAT and most pubs, cafés and restaurants only know about one. Which one you're really selling, why VAT on a single-purpose voucher is due the day you sell it, what happens to the ones never used, and why voucher money is a liability, not income, until it's spent.
The VAT Reverse Charge for Subcontractors: Why Your Invoice Shows £0.00 VAT
Under the domestic reverse charge you don’t charge VAT to a contractor — they account for it. What it is, the four tests for when it applies, the wording every invoice must carry, and the cashflow squeeze it creates on top of CIS.
Youth Minimum Wage 2026: Fairer Pay, or Fewer First Jobs?
The 18–20 minimum wage rose 8.5% in April, more than double the adult rise, and is now 85% of the adult rate. What a young employee really costs you, why under-21s still carry no employer National Insurance, the 21st birthday jump that catches employers out, and the debate over whether closing the gap helps young people or costs them jobs. Have your say.
'My Accountant Sorts It All Out': The Myth That Costs Business Owners Most
Handing everything over once a year feels sorted. It isn't — by then the tax bill, how you paid yourself and the timing of every purchase are already fixed. Why year-end accounts are the minimum an accountant can do, a side-by-side of year-end-only versus proactive, and a three-question test to see which one you're getting.
Finding a Bookkeeper in Winchester or Hampshire: What to Look For and What It Costs
What a bookkeeper actually does, how they differ from an accountant, and what bookkeeping costs locally — £30–£45 an hour or £150–£300 a month in Hampshire. Plus seven questions to ask before you hire, why anti-money-laundering registration is the check that matters, and whether being local still counts.
Two VAT Choices Most Business Owners Miss: Monthly Returns and Registering Early
Quarterly VAT returns are a default, not a rule — and registering below the threshold is a choice. Which businesses benefit from monthly filing (bakeries, children's clothing, publishers, exporters), when voluntary registration pays off for B2B and zero-rated businesses, and who should leave both alone.
Charging a Company Electric Car: Home, Workplace and Public — and What Goes on the P11D
HMRC changed its own guidance: reimbursing an employee for charging a company electric car at home is exempt, with no benefit in kind and no Class 1A. The old position is still repeated everywhere. Home, workplace and public charging, the advisory electricity rates, and where VAT recovery stops.
Good Bookkeeping Takes Half an Hour a Week
Upload your receipts, match your bank transactions, chase anything unpaid — do it weekly and your books stay ready all year. Plus the client whose previous bookkeeper coded purchases as Nil VAT, the £500 it nearly cost them, and the three areas that catch people out most: car leases, entertainment and personal expenses.
The VAT Registration Test Is a Rolling 12 Months — Not Your Year-End
Every month you should look back across the previous twelve — because a strong summer can push your rolling total over £90,000 while your annual figures still look comfortable. How both registration tests work, the 30-day notification deadline, and what missing it costs.
Payments on Account: Check the 31 July Bill Before You Pay It
The second payment on account is due 31 July — and most advice assumes the money is there. If it isn't, the first question is whether the payment should be that size at all. When it's reducible, how to claim without triggering interest later, and how HMRC instalment plans work if the figure is right.
Profit vs Cash: Why Your Bank Balance Doesn't Match Your Accounts
Good month on paper, empty-looking bank account? Profit and cash aren't the same thing, and the gap catches out a lot of business owners. The three usual causes — invoices not yet paid, tax building up quietly, and money leaving that profit never sees — plus the simple monthly fix.
VAT Reclaim Mistakes: What You Can't Claim Back
Reclaim VAT you weren't entitled to and HMRC comes back to you — with interest. A plain-English sense-check of the costs that catch businesses out: utilities that aren't always 20%, overseas invoices with no UK VAT, client entertainment, the 50% restriction on leased cars, and the invoice problems that quietly kill a claim.
CIS Deductions: Check the Status Before You Pay
Under CIS you deduct 0%, 20% or 30% from a subcontractor's labour — and the rate depends entirely on their status with HMRC. Verify before you pay, because get it wrong and HMRC chases you for the shortfall, so you end up paying twice. Plus the stronger gross payment status powers from 6 April 2026.
Good Bookkeeping: Less Admin, More Accurate Accounts
Bookkeeping is the job nobody starts a business for — but kept accurate and current it quietly saves hours of admin and makes your VAT, accounts and tax far more reliable. Here's how, in plain English.
Long-Term Contracts Under FRS 102: When Does a Construction Job Become Profit?
Busy, winning work and profitable on paper — but short of cash? A plain-English guide to long-term contract accounting under FRS 102: revenue as work progresses, the new five-step model from January 2026, retentions, variations, WIP and loss-making jobs.
Capital Allowances for Construction: Don't Leave Tax Relief in the Yard
Diggers, vans, tools and pickups — a plain-English 2026 guide to claiming capital allowances in construction. The Annual Investment Allowance, full expensing, the new 40% allowance, electric cars, and the double-cab pickup change that now catches firms out.
Salary vs Dividends: Planning How to Pay Yourself in 2026/27
How company directors can extract profit tax-efficiently in 2026/27 — the salary vs dividends decision, the sole-director Employment Allowance trap and how to resolve it, plus the other factors that affect your take-home.
Temporary 5% VAT: Children's Meals, Family Tickets & Attraction Admissions
From 25 June to 1 September 2026, a 5% VAT rate applies to children's meals eaten on premises, children's and family theatre and cinema tickets, and admissions to qualifying attractions. This is not a general hospitality cut — find out exactly what qualifies and what doesn't.
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