Self employed and small firms under HMRC spotlight

An accountancy group has warned the self employed and recently formed businesses to take extra care with record keeping for their VAT and general tax affairs.

Smith & Williamson says that these groups are likely to come under closer scrutiny from HM Revenue and Customs as they have traditionally been seen as the groups of people at greatest risk of making mistakes in their tax returns.

Richard Mannion, national tax director at Smith & Williamson said: "In light of the recently announced tax gap of £42billion and the pressure on public finances, the taxman will be wanting to recoup funds as soon as it can from people and businesses who have under-paid their tax.

"Besides, the taxman can now carry out checks on individuals and businesses which relate to the current year. This makes it more important than ever before to make sure record keeping and filing are up to scratch – and then to hold onto those records. The taxman expects to see records going back for at least six years.

"Certain areas frequently catch people out. For example, if you use assets for both business and personal use - perhaps if you are working from a spare bedroom in your home - you must keep sufficient records to back up any claims you may make for electricity and gas, for example. Similarly, if you use a car for both business and personal use you need to keep a log of mileage associated with the business and hold onto receipts for petrol and any repairs.

"VAT is clearly high on the taxman's agenda, not least since HMRC estimates that around £15billion of VAT has been underpaid. Clearly, it will be eyeballing many businesses VAT returns.

"Another area that frequently trips people up is the question of private money put into a business or taken from it. Even if it is your own business, records on this must be kept to demonstrate exactly what has been done."

"In general terms, the self employed must keep a record of all sales and takings, purchases and expenses. Any purchases or sales of assets such as a computer, tools or other equipment necessary for your work must also be noted, but separately from day-to-day purchases.

"Further records will be required, depending on your business. These may include details of petty cash expenses, invoices and receipts, till rolls, hire purchase and leasing arrangements and bank statements.

"For many businesses, such as private therapists, sports trainers, plumbers, electricians etc, the taxman will expect that some of your clients pay in cash. You need to keep a careful note of this with dates of these payments and corresponding bank records."