I really sympathise with him EL, suddenly finding you owe a load of tax you thought you had paid is very tough.

The accountants will have filed the original tax return for 12/13 with HMRC online rather than sending a paper return throught the post. It is possible to amend a tax return for that year online with HMRC until 31 January 2015. that can be done without having to write or ring HMRC. Generally no-one from HMRC will get involved. I amend tax returns for clients from time to time when a client has forgotten to tell me something and apart from the tax it's painless. My client will get charged interest for having paid the tax late but the accoutants have already said that they will pay that.

I doubt if they would be prepared to pay the tax though they might decide to reduce the fee they charged hilm and repay him the excess.

 

One of my clients asked me about the changes coming in from 1 July on ISAs.

At present yoo can put in a total of £11,520 in ISAs in a tax year of which only half (£5,760) can be in a cash ISA, the rest being in a stocks and shares ISA.

From 1 July all ISAs will be reformed as New ISAs (NISAS) and you can put up to £15,000 in a tax year. It can be all put into a cash NISA, the only restriction is that you can only put money in one cash NISA and one stocks and shares NISA in a tax year.

So although you can only put up to £5,760 in a cash ISA between 6 April and 30 June, on or after 1 July you can put the balance of £15,000 in that NISA. You can't put the balance in a different cash NISA during this tax year.

 

what a minefield...

I've been banking with Lloyds for years and my current account is a Gold account. No interest is given, there's a monthly bank charge of £12-95 but that is waived provided the balance doesn't go below £2,000. I alaways make sure that the balance doesn't go below £2,000 and so I don't pay any charges.

 

Recently Lloyds have introduced a Club Lloyds current account. At first sight it seems quite attractive. There's a £5 monhly charge but that's waived if you pay in at least £1,500 in the month. The account pays interest (1% on a balance of £1 to £1,999, 2% on a balance of £2,000 to £3,999, and 4% on a balance of £4,000 to £5,000. No interest paid on any excess over £5,000.

 

I might be tempted to switch my Gold account to a Club Lloyds current account bur there's a catch. Tucked away in the terms and conditions is this little clause:

"If you are adding the Club Lloyds benefits package to an account for which we normally charge a monthly account fee but you benefit from a fee waiver, that monthly account fee waiver will no longer apply and we will charge you the normal monthly account fee as well as the monthly Club Lloyds fee."

 

So although the £5 monhtly Club Lloyds fee gets waived if I pay in £1,500 in the month, I would get charged the £12-95 Gold account fee even if I keep at least £2,000 in the account.

 

I don't think I'll switch to a Club Lloyds account. It may be beneficial for some Lloyds customers but not me. Always look at the small print before making a decision as there may be a catch.

 

I think you're advice is very wise El it certainly isn't worth you switching accounts.
It's good that your clients previous accountant has admitted and apologised for their mistake, and are willing to pay the interest. It's a shame your client owes on the tax though.
Having said that, I can't help but wonder why they haven't saved in advance anyway; I set aside 30% of all my income before anything else, to cover tax & national insurance, and then just don't touch it!  If your client had done the same then he/she should have had enough to cover the bill regardless of what accounting errors had occurred.
I am aware of the allowance before tax and if I have a quiet week I sometimes allow a £100-£150 deduction before calculating that 30% on the rest, but that's quite rare. I prefer to have a safety cushion available.

As for savings accounts, I have several, and my bank frequently tries to get me to come in for a "review", which is a wasted effort because each account is allocated for a specific reason;
Car
House/Dog insurance
Christmas
Holiday
Nest egg

Meanwhile.. My eyes are streaming and my nose is like a tap! I am so glad I've got the day off tomorrow.
I'm actually debating whether to just forget calorie counting for today and order a hot curry

Summer, although your 30% tip on saving for your tax is a good idea, not all my clients follow my advice My new client has some on his income being taxed at sourse as some comes under the subcontactors rules. That does make it harder for him to assess his tax situation. I would encouage him to get his papers to me early in the tax year so he has plenty of time to find the money to pay tax if in fact there's any to pay - it will vary from yeat to year.

 

I hope your cold eases. You could go for something like a hot chicken jalfrezi as jalfrezi curries tend to have lower calories than some other curries.

http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/ca...indian_takeaway.html

I'd say just go for a really hot curry and blow the calories for once, you will soon walk it off once you are better Summer

Awww poor Sweet

I hope you feel better soon

Agreed

Oh reeeeeeally?! that's great news because I'm waiting on a jalfrezi! I don't like chicken though so I chose prawn, with garlic rice
That link is terrific El, thank you

My bath remedy for colds consists of black pepper oil, grapefruit, tea tree and lavender.
Black pepper oil isn't used a lot, because it raises your temperature. I use it to sweat out the germs.
Grapefruit is an anti-oxidant
Tea tree is anti bacterial, anti viral and anti fungal
Lavender eases any muscle ache (which I don't have), is a relaxant and also antibacterial etc
I use this combination every night during a cold, it works wonders for me

And, thank you for the get well hugs you guys are lovely x

I think I would rather have the cold

Very welcome

Rofl moonie! that's such a boy thing to say mr summer wouldn't bathe in that, or drink lemon/honey/brandy either

Uh oh! Mr summer has gone to walk bramble and a thunderstorm has developed, I've left plenty of large towels by the door for their return, it sounds like they will be wet!

Sensible guy

noooooooo

I hope they will be okay and not get too wet

I should think he went out in waterproofs, he usually does. But the water will still splash everywhere and bramble will need drying off. I have a theory that she doesn't even feel rain, her coat is dense and wiry and her skin is very thick. She does always resist being dried and looks real cute at the same time

So no hairdryer for Bramble then Sweet?

Does her fur 'fluff up' when she is wet?

Hi everyone. Flying visit, as internet connection is erratic, to say the least.

I hope you are all well and I will be back with you on Saturday.

Weather hasn't been too bad, with some long sunny spells. Nice to spend time with middle son and DiL.

Take care of yourselves.

 

coooooooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeee Yogi

We look forward to having you back and are very pleased you have had good weather and having a good time

Take care and have a safe journey home

 

Aw I missed yogi!
I was just about to say to moonie that I miss her too

She won't let me moonie, at best I can blow dry her face on a low speed but anywhere else and she goes crazy!
When she was a pup she used to run outside scared when I dried my hair, I had to train her to come touch it when it was laying on the floor (by putting a treat on it). Now, she'll just sit and watch me

Her fur goes very fluffy when she's dried off

She sounds like a darling Sweet

Yogi said she had a dodgy internet connection. It was just sheer luck I was here Sweet

I thought that would be why she hadn't been able to log in, I bet she has forum withdrawals lol
As long as she's having a good holiday though, that's what counts

And she will be back on Saturday too...woohoo

We'll have to have a stack of pancakes ready for her homecoming

Yes, indeed we will Sweet

I'll try not to eat them

only try?

I'll leave most of them, honest

That's a good gal

I'm baking like a hot potato moonie!

A glowing Sweet

Lol like a volcano soon

I love staying up late when I'm off the next day!

What do you do when everyone's logged off and you're still up? I put a movie on

And why not

I usually stop online playing some of the games on FB then watch telly until I feel tired

Sounds good I used to be a real night owl- 1am every night. Not now though, I'm up too early and I get sleepy by 10pm

Did you get your toast?

If I go to bed too early Sweet, I wake up during the night, that's why I stop up late Sweet

Nope, no toast yet

 

I shall wish you goodnight and hope you sleep well. Enjoy your day off too. Sweet dreams

Leaving for absent friends