Accountants in
Norfolk

Possibly, but the rules have tightened considerably and HMRC scrutinises claims closely. The work must seek an advance in science or technology and resolve genuine technical uncertainty that a competent professional could not readily work out.

Ordinary product development, cosmetic changes and routine software configuration do not qualify. We will give you a straight assessment rather than encouraging a speculative claim, because an unsuccessful one now carries real risk.

The main levers are capital allowances on equipment, employer pension contributions, getting the salary and dividend split right, and making sure every genuine business cost has actually been captured in the accounts. Full expensing gives 100% relief on qualifying new plant and machinery.

Nearly all of it depends on acting before the year end. Once the year has closed, the options that remain are mostly limited to making sure nothing was missed.

You generally need to file if you were self-employed with turnover over £1,000, received rental income, are a company director taking dividends, made a capital gain above the annual exempt amount, or earned over £50,000 while you or your partner claimed Child Benefit.

If you have had a notice to file from HMRC you must submit a return even if you owe nothing, until HMRC withdraws the notice. If you are not sure, ask us — it takes five minutes to check.

By the 22nd of the following tax month if you pay electronically, or the 19th if you still pay by post. Small employers whose average monthly liability is under £1,500 can arrange to pay quarterly instead.

We tell you the amount and the deadline every period, so it is never a guess.

Yes. There are two approaches. The simplified flat rate gives you a fixed monthly amount based on hours worked from home, which needs no receipts and suits most people. Alternatively you can apportion actual costs — rent or mortgage interest, council tax, utilities, insurance — by the number of rooms used and the time they are used for business.

The apportioned method usually gives a larger claim but requires records. We work out which is better for you rather than defaulting to the easy one.

Enough to show how you arrived at the figures on your return: sales invoices, purchase receipts, bank statements, mileage logs, and records of any goods you took for personal use. Digital copies are fine and HMRC accepts photographs of receipts.

Keep them for five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year. Under Making Tax Digital the records will need to be kept digitally, which is one reason we set clients up on software early.