The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 46: Dec/Jan 2019 | Page 10

FINANCE Five years of South West Business Finance 2019 was a special year for South West Business Finance (SWBF) as the company celebrated turning five. Dan Smith, Co-Director of SWBF said, “We were delighted to celebrate and share this milestone with the whole team at a recent get together. “It has been a great five years, we have grown our team and taken on additional employees, invested in our systems and processes and we have helped secure nearly £350 million of lending for our clients.” SWBF believe the following attributes have made them unique in the market place. • Unrivalled experience in Commercial Banking; over 300 years collective experience in the team. Co-Director, Steve Barrett added, “We are based in Corsham, near Bath but are able to help businesses all over the South West with their finance needs. This is where we see our role, to provide advice and help you navigate the plethora of funding options in the market that you might not be aware of. “We love working with our clients and being part of their journey and can’t wait to see what the next five years holds for us! Please give us a call if you would like our advice or support with your finance or future plans.” • Personal customer service; we stand alongside our clients from application to completion of lending. • Tailored funding solutions and advice; we do what is right for our clients and give advice on all funding structures. • Access to over 200 lenders; we are completely independent and not attached to any one lender. [email protected] 01225 800849 For more info: www.swbf.co.uk SWBF directors, Dan Smith and Steve Barrett. THE AMS GUIDE TO MAKING TAX DIGITAL Swindon’s AMS Accountancy give the answers to their frequently asked questions around Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT registered businesses. When does MTD start? Stage one affects VAT registered businesses with turnovers above £85k with effect from their first VAT Return on or after 01/04/19. How do I join? Your accountant can do it for you, or you can do it yourself. You must join at least 5 working days after your last ‘non-MTD’ VAT Return submission and at least 8 working days before your first MTD submission is due. Follow the process on HMRC website for signing up for MTD. Can I join voluntarily? Yes, but sooner or later all businesses will have to join. How do I deregister if my turnover falls below £85,000? Once you’re in MTD you can’t leave except if you deregister for VAT. My business is new - can I just join MTD straight away? Yes, you can join as soon as you’re VAT registered. 10 www.tbeswindonandwilts.co.uk Ask AMS Advice for small businesses AMS Accountancy Ltd. 01793 818400 Will it mean more VAT or tax is payable? No. As long as you are doing it correctly, you won’t have to pay more VAT. Voluntary National Insurance can be a great investment Will I have to give my records to my accountant more often? Possibly. VAT is done quarterly so it will be the same. For each year that you pay National Insurance contributions, you generally receive a larger pension. But some taxpayers don’t earn enough to pay National Insurance - risking a smaller state pension. What if my business makes overseas sales? That makes no difference, you treat them just as you do at the moment. I’m an overseas VAT registered business, selling goods in the UK what does this mean? The UK rules pretty much apply. If your turnover is below £85K, you don’t need to join MTD for VAT yet but if it is over, you must join. When does Stage 2 of MTD actually come in? Stage 2 is about income tax and corporation tax and submitting mini quarterly Profit and Loss accounts to HMRC. It comes in from April 2021 at the earliest. Search AMS Accountancy on YouTube and watch their 80+ informative videos. For the self-employed, Class 2 National Insurance Contributions of £156.00 are payable for profits over £6,365 (2019/20). But, if your profits are below £6,365, you don’t have to pay Class 2 NIC - however, you have the option to pay £156.00 voluntarily. Each year you make a contribution counts as a qualifying year towards your state pension. If you reach state pension age after 5/4/2016 you need 10 qualifying years to receive any state pension. The amount of pension you receive increases until there have been at least 35 qualifying years – when your pension is maximised. So, by voluntarily paying NI of £156.00 you increase your state pension by 1/35 th . Peter Bromiley ACA 80+ videos on @AMSAccountancy www.ams-accountancy.co.uk ‘AMS Accountancy’