https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blog Plain-English tax and accounting guides for Winchester and Hampshire business owners, from ICAEW Chartered Accountant Chris Sullivan ACA. en-gb Lumi Accountancy Limited Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/lumi-logo.png https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blog https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/christmas-gift-vouchers-vat-hospitality https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/christmas-gift-vouchers-vat-hospitality Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & VAT 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-reverse-charge-subcontractors https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-reverse-charge-subcontractors Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/youth-minimum-wage-rise-2026 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/youth-minimum-wage-rise-2026 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Payroll & Employment 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/accountant-sorts-it-all-myth https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/accountant-sorts-it-all-myth Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Advisory & Business Growth 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/bookkeeper-winchester-hampshire https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/bookkeeper-winchester-hampshire Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Bookkeeping & Admin What a bookkeeper actually does, how they differ from an accountant, and what bookkeeping costs locally — £15–£30 an hour or £100–£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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/monthly-vat-returns-voluntary-registration https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/monthly-vat-returns-voluntary-registration Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & VAT 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/company-electric-car-charging-p11d https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/company-electric-car-charging-p11d Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & Employment 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/bookkeeping-weekly-routine-vat-coding https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/bookkeeping-weekly-routine-vat-coding Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Bookkeeping & Admin 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-registration-rolling-12-month-test https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-registration-rolling-12-month-test Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & VAT 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/payments-on-account-31-july-2026 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/payments-on-account-31-july-2026 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & Self Assessment 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/profit-vs-cash-flow https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/profit-vs-cash-flow Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Cash Flow & Management 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-reclaim-mistakes-2026 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-reclaim-mistakes-2026 Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & VAT 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/cis-deductions-subcontractor-status-2026 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/cis-deductions-subcontractor-status-2026 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Construction & CIS 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/bookkeeping-reduce-admin-accurate-accounts https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/bookkeeping-reduce-admin-accurate-accounts Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Bookkeeping & Admin 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/construction-long-term-contracts-frs102 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/construction-long-term-contracts-frs102 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Construction & Accounts 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/capital-allowances-construction-2026 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/capital-allowances-construction-2026 Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & Capital Allowances 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/salary-vs-dividends-2026-27 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/salary-vs-dividends-2026-27 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & Profit Extraction 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. https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-hospitality-summer-2026 https://lumiaccountancy.co.uk/blogs/vat-hospitality-summer-2026 Sat, 30 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Chris Sullivan ACA Tax & VAT 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.