Latest News

Partners’ Personal Expenses – Tax Update for Doctors

HMRC reviewed partnership expenses. Doctors in partnership can still claim expenses incurred ‘wholly and necessarily’ on behalf of the partnership and can be adjusted via the tax computation and return.

Did you miss the tax deadline? What to do - and not to do - now

What to do if you missed HMRC's tax return deadline on January 31st. Take action now to avoid further penalites and be prepared for next year

What does your food and drink business need to do with Making Tax Digital?

Is your food and drink business ready for HMRC's Making Tax Digital inititive coming into force on 1 April 2019.

SRA Accounts Rules compliance: Accountant's reports

Legal Sector Audit Partner, Huw Nicholls, answers the most common questions around SRA Accounts Rules complaince, particularly around reporting accountants and protecting yourself as the COFA

Digi and Tech Start Ups – 5 Tax Incentives and Reliefs You Should Know

Despite Brexit uncertainty, the outlook is bright for the UK tech sector. The Tech Nation Report 2018 has found that the sector is growing 2.6 times faster than the overall economy and London was ranked as the second most connected place in the world for tech businesses behind Silicon Valley. I’m sure many will agree that these are exciting times for digi and tech start-ups throughout the UK.

Douglas Russell Embarks on Charity Arctic Circle Trek

Armstrong Watson Accountants’ Dumfries Partner, Douglas Russell, will embark on the walk of a lifetime as he battles against the Arctic elements in aid of Scottish secondary breast cancer charity Make 2nds Count.

Dougie will begin his journey on 28^th February, travelling to Rovaniemi in Finland before spending the next 3 days trekking 65km deep into the Arctic Circle.

Preparing for a ‘No Deal’ Brexit

Even by recent standards, it marks a strange day in Politics when a British Prime Minister views it as a successful result to be given a brief to go back to re-negotiate a deal which is already binding and the EU insists it has no intention of re-opening. Still no credible statement has emerged of what the mooted “alternative arrangements” to the backstop might look like.

The other amendment passed last week was a motion rejecting a no-deal exit. But that motion was passed by an even smaller majority and is not binding on Parliament.

Accountants not ready for Making Tax Digital

A recent survey* of accountants shows that 90% of advisers do not have a solution in place to offer their clients ready for the looming Making Tax Digital deadline in April 2019. In brief, Making Tax Digital (MTD) requires businesses to submit their VAT return information directly from their book keeping software to HMRC, with effect from 1^st April.

Don’t use spreadsheets to comply with Making Tax Digital

For businesses who maintain their financial records using a manual cashbook or spreadsheet you need to convert to a book keeping package which is MTD compliant, such as Xero, or adapt your existing system to an “API enabled spreadsheet cashbook”.

More men in the boat but does it make it faster?

Investment in technology, innovation and higher level skills is needed for long term manufacturing growth