Business News
How to keep accurate accounting records
As you would expect from the Inland Revenue, the dreaded taxman is very keen for everyone who needs to submit a tax return to keep accurate and complete financial records. He has been busy recently issuing a new leaflet via the HM Revenue’s website regarding this very matter, which neatly outlines the records they expect all businesses to keep, as well as those required by the law.
For some (not so) light reading, take a look at the leaflet here:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/factsheet/record-keeping.pdf
All joking aside though, failure to keep to keep accurate financial records (income, sales, gains, expenses and business costs) means that you won’t be able to prove the validity of the figures on your tax return.
If the taxman challenges any entries on your tax return and you are unable to produce the evidence to back them up, he will assume (rightly or wrongly) they are incorrect. He will then think up a more reasonable figure (in his eyes!) and tax you on that, meaning you then have to pay additional tax on top of the original, interest on the late payment and potentially a penalty of up to 100% of the value of the tax you haven’t paid.
In short – a lot of unnecessary outlay you could have avoided!
You can avoid such a nightmare by ensuring you keep everything accurate and complete.
If you are unsure about anything you should be keeping, then talk to Suretax Accounting today.
