Accountancy practices: 56 checked facts and figures, with sources

Class 4 on £50,000 profit is (£50,000 - £12,570) x 6% = £2,245.80. On £60,000 it is £37,700 x 6% + £9,730 x 2% = £2,262.00 + £194.60 = £2,456.60, so the extra £10,000 of profit adds £210.80 (2.11%), not 6%. Voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week over 52 weeks is £189.80.

Source: GOV.UK, "Self-employed National Insurance rates" (tax year 2026 to 2027: Class 4 at 6% on profits over £12,570 up to £50,270 and 2% above £50,270; profits of £7,105 or more, Class 2 treated as paid; below £7,105 no payment required but voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week). Read 19 October 2026.

Full guide: Class 4 National Insurance for a sole trader: what a client pays on £50,000 and £60,000 profit, worked

At 7.75% simple interest, £10,000 overdue costs £2.12 a day (£10,000 x 7.75% / 365). £6,000 paid 28 days late costs £35.67. £10,000 overdue for 61 days across the 27 August 2025 rate change (8.25% for 26 days, then 8.00% for 35 days) costs £58.77 + £76.71 = £135.48, against £137.88 if the old rate were wrongly used throughout.

Source: GOV.UK, "HMRC interest rates for late and early payments" (rates table: 7.75% late payment and 2.75% repayment from 9 January 2026; 8.00% from 27 August 2025; 8.25% from 28 May 2025) and GOV.UK, "Late payment interest if you do not pay VAT or penalties on time" (base rate plus 4%; starts the first day the payment is overdue; stops the day it is paid in full; worked example 8,340 x 8.5% x 7 / 365 = 13.60; interest continues on the outstanding balance under an arrangement). Read 16 October 2026.

Full guide: HMRC late payment interest at 7.75%: what a client's overdue bill costs per day, worked on £10,000

An invoice of £6,000 plus £1,200 VAT, £7,200 in all, supplied 1 March 2026 and due 15 March 2026. The later date is 15 March, so the claim opens on 15 September 2026 and closes on 15 September 2030. If £2,400 was paid, £4,800 is unpaid, and VAT is one sixth of a gross figure at 20%, so the claim is £800. With nothing paid the claim is the full £1,200.

Source: GOV.UK, "VAT Notice 700/18: relief from VAT on bad debts" (wait at least 6 months from the later of the date payment was due and the date of supply; claim within 4 years and 6 months of the later of those dates; VAT must have been accounted for and paid to HMRC; debt written off in the day-to-day VAT accounts and moved to a bad debt account; value not above the customary selling price; not paid, sold or factored; claim on the return for the period in which the conditions are first met, in box 4; records kept for 4 years from the claim; payments go to the earliest supply first unless the customer names one and pays it in full; relief only on the unpaid portion). Read 14 October 2026.

Full guide: VAT bad debt relief: wait six months, claim within 4 years and 6 months, worked for a £7,200 invoice part-paid

The test line is the larger of 2% of turnover and £1,000, so the two are equal at £50,000 of turnover. At £48,000 a client must spend £1,000 on goods to escape the test; at £60,000 the line is £1,200. A client with £60,000 of sales and £12,000 of VAT has £72,000 of gross turnover. At 14.5% that is £10,440 paid over; at 16.5% it is £11,880, which is £1,440 more a year.

Source: GOV.UK, "VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay" (limited cost business if goods cost less than either 2% of turnover or £1,000 a year if costs are more than 2%; a limited cost business pays 16.5%; 1% discount in the first year of VAT registration; example flat rates include accountancy or book-keeping 14.5%). Read 13 October 2026.

Full guide: VAT Flat Rate Scheme: the limited cost test (2% of turnover or £1,000) can move a client from 14.5% to 16.5%

A transfer of £1,260 at the 20% basic rate is £252. The lower earner's own Personal Allowance falls to £11,310, so at income of £11,310 or less the whole £252 is kept. At £12,000 the lower earner pays 20% on £690, which is £138, and the couple are £114 better off. At £12,570 the gain is nil. Claims reach back to 6 April 2022, which is up to four earlier years of £252 (£1,008) plus the current year.

Source: GOV.UK, "Marriage Allowance" (transfer £1,260 of Personal Allowance; partner's tax falls by up to £252 a tax year; the lower earner's income must be below the Personal Allowance, usually £12,570; partner a basic-rate taxpayer, usually £12,571 to £50,270; backdate to 6 April 2022). Read 11 October 2026.

Full guide: Marriage Allowance: the £1,260 transfer is worth £252 a year, but only until the lower earner's income passes £11,310

On £2,000 of Child Benefit a year, income of £68,000 is £8,000 over £60,000, which is 40 steps of £200 and a charge of 40% or £800. At £70,000 the charge is half the benefit (£1,000), at £75,000 it is 75% (£1,500) and at £80,000 it is all £2,000. Under the old £50,000 and £100 rule the same £68,000 would have been 180 steps, so the whole benefit and more.

Source: GOV.UK, "High Income Child Benefit Charge" (over £60,000 for tax years starting from 2024 to 2025; 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 over £60,000; all of it paid back over £80,000; pay through PAYE or Self Assessment). Read 10 October 2026.

Full guide: A client earns £68,000 and claims Child Benefit: the 1% per £200 charge worked from £60,000 to £80,000

A director whose company has a 31 March year end draws £18,000 on 1 November 2026 and still owes it on the due date. The loan was made in the accounting period ending 31 March 2027, so the charge is due on 1 January 2028 (nine months on, plus a day). At the 35.75% dividend upper rate for 2026 to 2027 it is £6,435; repaying £12,000 first leaves £6,000 and a charge of £2,145. Had the loan been made in 2025 to 2026 at 33.75%, the same £18,000 would have cost £6,075.

Source: legislation.gov.uk, Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 455 (charge at the dividend upper rate for the tax year in which the loan is made; due on the day following the end of nine months from the end of the accounting period in which the loan was made); GOV.UK, Tax on dividends (2026 to 2027 higher rate 35.75%). The page read did not state a separate section 455 percentage, so the 35.75% is read across from the dividend upper rate the Act names. Read 9 October 2026.

Full guide: A director has overdrawn the loan account: the section 455 charge at 35.75%, the nine months and one day deadline, worked

A company with £60,000 of profit and no associated company pays £12,150 of corporation tax (£15,000 at 25% less £2,850 of relief), an effective 20.25%. The same company with one associated company has limits of £25,000 and £125,000, so relief is £975 and tax is £14,025 (23.375%). The second company costs £1,875. Inside the band every extra £1 of profit is taxed at 26.5p, because £53,000 of extra tax is raised over a £200,000 band.

Source: Finance Act 2025, sections 13 and 14 (main rate 25% and standard marginal relief fraction 3/200ths for the financial year 2026), legislation.gov.uk, read 8 October 2026; GOV.UK, Corporation Tax rates (19% at £50,000 or less, 25% above £250,000, limits reduced for short accounting periods and associated companies), read 8 October 2026; GOV.UK, Corporation Tax Marginal Relief (three other associated companies divide the limits by four, giving £12,500 and £62,500), read 8 October 2026; GOV.UK, Pay your Corporation Tax bill (9 months and 1 day), read 8 October 2026.

Full guide: Corporation tax between £50,000 and £250,000: marginal relief worked, and what an associated company does to the limits

A director with a £12,570 salary and £40,000 of dividends owes £4,821.25 of dividend tax for 2026 to 2027 (£37,200 at 10.75% plus £2,300 at 35.75%), against £4,031.25 at last year's 8.75% and 33.75%, so £790 more. Across £20,000, £40,000 and £60,000 of dividends the rise is exactly 2% of the dividends above the £500 allowance (£390, £790 and £1,190).

Source: GOV.UK, Tax on dividends (dividend allowance £500; rates for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 of 10.75% basic, 35.75% higher and 39.35% additional); GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (Personal Allowance £12,570, basic rate to £50,270, higher rate to £125,140). Both read 7 October 2026. The 2025 to 2026 rates of 8.75% and 33.75% are from GOV.UK's earlier published rates.

Full guide: Dividend tax in 2026 to 2027 for a director client: the 10.75% and 35.75% rates worked at three dividend levels

For a client who stops trading on 31 October 2026 with stock worth £3,800 and equipment worth £1,100 (both bought with VAT reclaimed, values at present-day prices), the assets total £4,900 and VAT at 20% is £980, under the £1,000 line, so nothing is added to the final return. With £300 more equipment the total is £5,200 and the VAT is £1,040, which is over the line and is added in full. At 20% the line is crossed when assets pass £5,000. The 30 days run from 31 October to 30 November 2026.

Source: GOV.UK "Register for VAT: Cancel your VAT registration" (gov.uk/register-for-vat/cancel-your-registration) and VAT Notice 700/11 "Cancelling your registration", read 2026-10-06. The first page showed no last updated date. Not confirmed from the pages read: whether the asset value is taken with or without VAT, the size of the late cancellation penalty, and whether VAT over the line is charged on the whole sum or only the excess (the notice wording suggests the whole sum; check before quoting).

Full guide: Can a client cancel their VAT registration? The £88,000 test, the 30-day rule and the £1,000 stock and assets line, worked

GOV.UK, read on 6 October 2026, lists £200 for a return one day late, another £200 at 3 months, 10% of the unpaid tax at 6 months and another 10% at 12 months. For a company with a 31 March 2026 year end and £18,000 of Corporation Tax unpaid, the return is due by 31 March 2027 but the tax by 1 January 2027, and a return filed more than a year late carries £200 + £200 + £1,800 + £1,800 = £4,000 in penalties. If the return has been late three times in a row, each £200 becomes £1,000, and the same case costs £1,000 + £1,000 + £1,800 + £1,800 = £5,600.

Source: GOV.UK "Company Tax Returns: deadline and penalties" and "Penalties for late filing of a Company Tax Return" (company-tax-returns pages), read 2026-10-06. The page shows no last updated date in the text read. Exact day counts for the 3, 6 and 12 month steps were not stated on the pages read and are not asserted here.

Full guide: What is the penalty for a late Company Tax Return? £200 on day one, and how it reaches £4,000 on £18,000 of unpaid tax

A client with £7,400 of taxable sales in each month from October 2025 to September 2026 has a rolling 12-month total of 12 x £7,400 = £88,800. October 2026 sales of £9,000 replace October 2025's £7,400, so the total becomes £88,800 - £7,400 + £9,000 = £90,400, which is £400 over £90,000. By GOV.UK's wording, registration is due by 30 November 2026 (30 days after 31 October) and the effective date is 1 December 2026. If December sales are also £9,000 and nobody registers, the VAT owed on that month is £1,800 if added on top (20% of £9,000) or £1,500 if the £9,000 already included VAT (£9,000 / 6).

Source: GOV.UK "Register for VAT" (gov.uk/register-for-vat) and "When to register for VAT" (gov.uk/vat-registration/when-to-register), read 2026-10-06. Neither page showed a last updated date. The size of the late registration penalty was not found on the pages read and is not stated here.

Full guide: When must a client register for VAT? The £90,000 test, the 30-day deadline and a worked date for a client who crosses it in October

We worked a £6,000 balancing payment due 31 January 2027, repaid in twelve £500 instalments on the 28th of each month from 28 February 2027 at HMRC's 7.75% rate on the reducing balance: the interest comes to £285.79, so the client repays £6,285.79 in all. The 5% penalty at 30 days alone would be £300 (30 days after 31 January 2027 is 2 March 2027), and day 60, when the plan window is said to close, is 1 April 2027.

Source: GOV.UK, "Set up a payment plan" Self Assessment online service (tax.service.gov.uk), read 5 October 2026; GOV.UK press release "Self Assessment customers to benefit from enhanced payment plans" (1 October 2020), read 5 October 2026; GOV.UK, Self Assessment tax returns: penalties, read 5 October 2026; GOV.UK, HMRC interest rates for late and early payments (7.75% from 9 January 2026), read 5 October 2026.

Full guide: A client cannot pay their Self Assessment bill: the online payment plan, the £30,000 limit and what it costs on a £6,000 bill

We worked one client with a £12,000 bill for 2025 to 2026 who cuts both 2026 to 2027 payments on account from £6,000 to £3,000. If the final bill is £9,000, the interest at 7.75% comes to £174.85 by 31 January 2028; if it is £13,000, it comes to £349.71; if the client had cut to £4,500, it would have been nil.

Source: GOV.UK "Understand your Self Assessment tax bill - Payments on account", "Claim to reduce payments on account" (9 May 2024), "Self Assessment - claim to reduce payments on account (SA303)" and "HMRC interest rates for late and early payments" (updated 23 December 2025); HMRC Self Assessment Manual SAM1001; Taxes Management Act 1970, sections 59A and 86 (legislation.gov.uk); all read 2026-10-05.

Full guide: Should a client reduce their payments on account? SA303, the 31 January deadline and the interest if the guess is wrong

We wrote this questionnaire of 4 questions and 8 outcomes from the rules set out in 3 of our guides and the sources each outcome names. The four questions have 19 routes. Eight of them end at "not in before 6 April 2028", whatever is answered about exemptions, and only one route ends at "in since 6 April 2026": income over £50,000 on the 2024 to 2025 return with no exemption.

Source: GOV.UK, Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 26 March 2026) and Work out your qualifying income (updated 11 September 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, section on ceased income sources (updated 11 September 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 26 March 2026) and Find out if you can get an exemption (updated 28 May 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 28 May 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, section on the digitally excluded exemption (updated 28 May 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, sections on exemptions that last until April 2027 (updated 28 May 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (26 March 2026), Sign up your client (24 August 2026) and Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (30 March 2026), read 2 October 2026; each outcome names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.

Free tool: When does this client have to join Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? Four questions

We wrote this questionnaire of 3 questions and 8 outcomes from the rules set out in 5 of our guides and the sources each outcome names. Only two of the eight outcomes charge money on the first day late: the £100 Self Assessment penalty on the old scale and the £150 Companies House penalty. The other six begin with a penalty point, or with 15 or 30 days in which no penalty is charged.

Source: GOV.UK, Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 30 March 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, table of late payment penalties (updated 30 March 2026), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Self Assessment tax returns: Penalties, read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, Penalty points and penalties if you submit your VAT Return late (updated 1 March 2023), read 2 October 2026; GOV.UK, How late payment penalties work if you pay VAT late (updated 10 July 2025), read 2 October 2026; Companies House, Late filing penalties (updated 16 January 2026), read on GOV.UK 2 October 2026; each outcome names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.

Free tool: Which penalty applies to this late return or late payment? Three questions, eight answers

We built the checker from GOV.UK's eligibility and quarterly-update pages; a client with £62,000 of qualifying income in 2024 to 2025 has been in MTD since 6 April 2026, and their four update deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.

Source: GOV.UK "Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" "Send quarterly updates" and "Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (updated 30 March 2026), all read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: MTD for Income Tax deadline checker: when each client starts, and the four dates a year

Companies House's penalty page was updated on 16 January 2026; a private company filing 40 days late pays £375, and £750 if last year's accounts were late too, and the page lists "reliance on an accountant" among reasons an appeal will not succeed on its own.

Source: GOV.UK "Late filing penalties" (Companies House, updated 16 January 2026) and "Confirmation statement guidance", both read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: Companies House late filing penalty calculator, and the confirmation statement date

For a practice with 120 clients over the £50,000 threshold, MTD adds 480 quarterly updates a year on top of 120 final declarations, and the first two deadlines of the 2026 to 2027 year, 7 August and 7 November, have already arrived or are weeks away.

Source: GOV.UK MTD eligibility and quarterly-update guidance; AccountingWEB "MTD didn't add tax work. It added the chasing" and "MTD quarter one leaves firms battered and bruised" (headlines); all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: MTD for Income Tax: what a practice actually does each quarter, and what to charge for it

On the GOV.UK scale, a return filed on 20 April with £4,800 of tax paid the same day costs £340 in penalties (£100 for the return, £240 for paying more than 30 days late) and about £80 in interest; filed and paid on 20 August it costs £1,780 in penalties plus about £205 in interest, because the daily penalties and the 6-month charges have arrived.

Source: GOV.UK "Self Assessment tax returns: penalties" and "Rates and allowances: HMRC interest rates" (7.75% from 9 January 2026; base rate plus 4% since 6 April 2025), both read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: Self Assessment late filing and late payment penalty calculator (2026 rates)

GOV.UK, read on 1 October 2026, says a taxpayer usually has 30 days from the date a penalty was issued to appeal to HMRC. On a £100 late filing penalty notice dated 17 February 2027 the appeal must be made by 19 March 2027. If a review follows, HMRC has 45 days to give its conclusions, and an appeal to the tax tribunal must be made within 30 days of the review letter.

Source: GOV.UK "Disagree with a tax decision or penalty" (penalty, decision, review, delay payment and reasonable excuses pages), "Appeal to the tax tribunal", "Appeal a Self Assessment penalty for late filing or late payment" (23 January 2024) and "Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (updated 30 March 2026); Taxes Management Act 1970, sections 31A, 49, 49C, 49E and 49G, and Finance Act 2009, Schedule 55, paragraphs 20, 21 and 23 (legislation.gov.uk); all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: How long do you have to appeal an HMRC penalty? 30 days from the date on the notice, and the three clocks that follow

On GOV.UK pages read on 1 October 2026, a client's authorisation link expires after 21 days, adding Self Assessment authorisations to an agent services account does not sign any client up, and from September 2026 HMRC signs up clients with qualifying income over £50,000 who have not signed up themselves.

Source: GOV.UK "Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (updated 24 August 2026), "Send quarterly updates" (19 May 2026), "Add your client authorisations for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (17 December 2025), "Authorise an agent for taxes that use the digital handshake" (17 March 2026), "Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (11 September 2026), "Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (30 March 2026) and "Apply for an agent services account" (1 October 2026); all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: How to sign up a client for MTD for Income Tax as an agent: authorisation, the 21-day link and clients HMRC has signed up itself

We wrote this list of 26 steps in 5 stages from the rules set out in 7 of our guides and the official pages each step names. Signing the client up is step 13 of 26: twelve steps come before it and thirteen after. The shortest clock in the list is the 21-day authorisation link, and a link sent after 17 October 2026 is still open when the 7 November update falls due.

Source: GOV.UK, Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK, Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK, Sign up your client; Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK, Apply for an agent services account; GOV.UK, Register or renew your money laundering supervision with HMRC; GOV.UK, Add your client authorisations for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK, Authorise an agent for taxes that use the digital handshake; GOV.UK, Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK, Send quarterly updates; GOV.UK, MTD quarterly update deadlines; our records policy; our records policy; our worked example of the quarterly workload; GOV.UK, Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; our three-letter sequence; GOV.UK, Self Assessment tax returns: penalties; each step names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.

Free tool: MTD for Income Tax checklist for accountants: moving one client in, income test to first update

GOV.UK, read on 1 October 2026, says a 2025 to 2026 return filed online by 30 December 2026 lets HMRC collect a balance under £3,000 through the PAYE code from 6 April 2027. For an employee owing £1,860 that is £155 a month for 12 months; filed a day later, the same client pays £2,790 on 31 January 2027, which is the £1,860 plus a £930 payment on account.

Source: GOV.UK "Self Assessment tax returns: Deadlines", "Pay your Self Assessment tax bill: Through your tax code" and "Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: Payments on account"; HMRC tax return notes SA150 for 2025 to 2026 (page TRG 15, box 2); Taxes Management Act 1970, section 59A (legislation.gov.uk); all read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: 30 December 2026: the Self Assessment filing date for clients who want the tax collected through their PAYE code

GOV.UK, read on 1 October 2026, says a client who registers after 5 October 2026 must file by 31 January 2027 or three months from the date on HMRC's letter, whichever is later, but must still pay by 31 January 2027. The failure to notify penalty is a percentage of the tax still unpaid on that date, so a late registrant who pays in full by 31 January leaves nothing for it to be charged on.

Source: GOV.UK "Register for Self Assessment", "Self Assessment tax returns" (Deadlines and Penalties), "How to register your client for a tax service as an agent" (8 September 2026), "Pay your Self Assessment tax bill", HMRC factsheet CC/FS11 "Penalties for failure to notify" (19 March 2026) and "HMRC interest rates for late and early payments"; Taxes Management Act 1970, sections 7 and 59B, and Finance Act 2008, Schedule 41, paragraph 7 (legislation.gov.uk); all read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: What happens if a client registers for Self Assessment after 5 October? The filing date moves, the payment date does not

We worked six cases from £700 to £4,000 of trading income. For any client whose income is over £1,000 the allowance wins when their real expenses are under £1,000, ties at exactly £1,000 and loses above it; at £4,000 of income with £1,600 of expenses the allowance leaves £3,000 of profit and expenses leave £2,400, a £600 difference (£120 of tax at 20%, before Class 4 National Insurance).

Source: GOV.UK "Tax-free allowances on property and trading income" (gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income), page last updated 8 May 2019, read 2026-10-06; GOV.UK "Expenses if you're self-employed", seen in a search summary only on 2026-10-06; the arithmetic is ours.

Full guide: Trading allowance or expenses? The £1,000 test for a sole-trader client, with six worked cases

We built the sequence on a ten-day lead: first request 24 days before filing, reminder at 14 days, final letter at 7 days, so a client who replies to the reminder still leaves the practice a working week.

Source: AccountingWEB industry insight "MTD didn't add tax work. It added the chasing" (headline); GOV.UK MTD quarterly update deadlines and Self Assessment penalties, read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: Records request letter template for accountants: three letters, from first ask to "we cannot file"

With MTD updates due on the 7th and a records date set 18 days after each period ends (23 July, 23 October, 23 January, 23 April), a client who hits the practice's date leaves 15 days for the work; one who sends on the deadline leaves none.

Source: GOV.UK MTD quarterly update deadlines; AccountingWEB "MTD didn't add tax work. It added the chasing" (headline); the practice-side workload in our MTD quarter guide; all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: How to stop clients sending records late: a records policy for a small practice

Regulation 40 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, read on 1 October 2026, makes a practice keep due diligence records for five years from the end of the client relationship and then delete the personal data unless another law or legal proceedings need it. GOV.UK sets the client's own minimums at 5 years after the 31 January deadline for the self-employed, 6 years for company and VAT records and 3 years for payroll.

Source: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 40, and Limitation Act 1980, sections 2, 5, 14A and 14B (legislation.gov.uk); GOV.UK "Business records if you're self-employed", "Keeping your pay and tax records", "Running a limited company: your responsibilities", "Charge, reclaim and record VAT" and "PAYE and payroll for employers"; ICAEW "Documents and records: ownership, lien and rights of access" (first published 2006, references updated March 2014); ICO "Principle (e): Storage limitation"; all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: How long should an accountant keep client records? The legal minimums, and a retention schedule to copy

On prices read from each vendor's own page on 1 October 2026, Dext Essentials costs a 20-client practice £240 a month before VAT (£12.00 a client on an annual subscription billed monthly), and AutoEntry costs less than that up to its 500-credit plan at £119.35 a month, which is 25 one-credit documents per client; its next plan, 1,500 credits, is £331.50.

Source: dext.com/uk/partner/pricing (the client stepper read at 10, 20, 50 and 100 clients), autoentry.com/pricing (pound sterling table), xero.com/uk Smart document capture page and hubdoc.com/pricing; all read in a browser on 2026-10-01. Desk check only: we did not request quotes or trial either product.

Full guide: Dext vs AutoEntry prices for accountants: per client against per credit, worked for a 20-client practice

We counted the authorisation timeline from GOV.UK's Online Agent Authorisation page. A request made on Monday 2 November 2026 gets its letter by Wednesday 11 November 2026 at the latest (7 working days), and the client's code has to reach the practice within 30 days of the letter, so by Friday 11 December 2026 if the letter is dated 11 November. A client who needs both Self Assessment and Corporation Tax gets two letters and two codes, so two separate 30-day clocks.

Source: GOV.UK "How to get authorised to act as a tax agent on behalf of your clients" (updated 17 March 2026), "How to use the Online Agent Authorisation to get authorised as a tax agent" (updated 18 January 2024), "Agent authorisation: apply using HMRC paper forms" (updated 12 May 2025) and "Authorise a tax agent (64-8)" (updated 24 July 2026); all read 2026-10-05.

Full guide: Online agent authorisation or form 64-8? How a practice gets authority to act for a new client, tax by tax

We wrote ten questions from the rules set out in 7 of our guides; for 5 of the ten the answer that is in order is "no", so the check cannot be passed by ticking yes. The first asks: Before writing to a new client's previous accountant, do you get the client's permission, preferably in writing? Section 320 of ICAEW's code says the incoming accountant needs the client's permission to write, preferably in writing, and the existing accountant needs the client's consent to answer. Without the signed authority the enquiry cannot be answered.

Source: ICAEW Code of Ethics 2026, section 320; ICAEW helpsheet for the incoming accountant; GOV.UK, Your responsibilities under money laundering supervision; Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 28(11); ICAEW guidance on document retention; Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 40; ICAEW guidance on documents and records; Companies Act 2006, sections 386 and 388; ICAEW helpsheet for the outgoing accountant; GOV.UK, Change or remove your authorisations as a tax agent; Companies House identity verification guidance; each rule is set out with its source in the guide the question links to. The test record is in tests/readiness/tools-check.txt.

Free tool: Taking on and letting go of a client: ten yes-or-no questions for an accountancy practice

We read Companies House's guidance on 1 October 2026: verification is free through GOV.UK One Login, a practice can verify clients only if it is registered as an authorised agent (ACSP), and a person with significant control gets a 14-day window to supply their personal code.

Source: GOV.UK "Verifying your identity for Companies House", "When you need to verify your identity for Companies House" (updated 30 July 2026) and "Confirmation statement guidance", all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: Companies House identity verification: what accountants must do for every director client

We read HMRC's guidance on 1 October 2026: a practice supervised by one of the 14 listed professional bodies (ICAEW and ACCA among them) does not register with HMRC, customer due diligence applies to every business relationship and to occasional transactions of 15,000 euros or more, and records are kept for five years from the end of the relationship.

Source: GOV.UK "Money laundering supervision for accountancy service providers" and "Money laundering regulations: your responsibilities", both read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: AML checklist for accountants and bookkeepers: supervision, due diligence, records and training

On GOV.UK's fee page (updated 22 December 2025, read 1 October 2026), a sole practitioner registering one office with HMRC pays £740 in the first year (£300 application, £400 premises, £40 approval check) and £400 a year after that, and HMRC says a new application can take up to 45 days to review.

Source: GOV.UK "Fees you'll pay for money laundering supervision" (updated 22 December 2025), "Register or update your money laundering supervision with HMRC" (28 January 2026), "Check if you need to register for money laundering supervision if you're an accountancy service provider" (16 March 2023), "HMRC approval checks" (3 March 2023), "Who needs to register for money laundering supervision" (23 August 2023), "Apply for an agent services account" (1 October 2026), "Applying to register as a Companies House authorised agent" (19 June 2026) and HM Treasury "Reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision" (outcome published 21 October 2025); all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: HMRC AML supervision for accountants and bookkeepers: who must register, what it costs and the 45-day wait

We wrote this list of 26 steps in 5 stages from the rules set out in 8 of our guides and the official pages each step names. Seven of the 26 steps cover the enquiry to the previous accountant, which runs to day 42 on ICAEW's figures. Only two periods in the list are fixed by an official system: HMRC's 21-day authorisation link and the 14 days Companies House gives a person with significant control to supply a personal code.

Source: GOV.UK, money laundering supervision and registration fees pages; ICAEW Code of Ethics 2026, section 320; ICAEW Code of Ethics 2026, section 320; ICAEW helpsheet for the incoming accountant; ICAEW helpsheets on change of professional appointment; ICAEW helpsheet for the incoming accountant; GOV.UK, Money laundering regulations: your responsibilities; GOV.UK, Money laundering supervision for accountancy service providers; GOV.UK, Verifying your identity for Companies House; GOV.UK, Verifying your identity for Companies House; Confirmation statement guidance; GOV.UK, MTD quarterly update deadlines; our records policy; our records policy; Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 40; ICAEW guidance on document retention; GOV.UK, Authorise an agent for taxes that use the digital handshake; GOV.UK, Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; each step names its source, and the linked guide shows the working.

Free tool: New client onboarding checklist for accountants: clearance, AML checks, engagement letter, HMRC

ICAEW's Code of Ethics (2026 edition, section 320) says an incoming accountant whose enquiry goes unanswered must write again by recorded delivery, stating an intention to accept the engagement; ICAEW's helpsheet adds that a reply period of less than two weeks is unlikely to be reasonable and that unpaid fees are not a reason to withhold a reply.

Source: ICAEW Code of Ethics 2026 (applies from 1 July 2026), section 320; ICAEW helpsheets "Change of professional appointment - incoming accountant" (reviewed 17 November 2023) and "Change of professional appointment - outgoing accountant" (updated 29 October 2025); GOV.UK "Authorise an agent for taxes that use the digital handshake" (17 March 2026); all read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: Professional clearance letter template: what to ask the previous accountant, and what to do when they do not reply

The two limbs meet at £123.25 / 0.8 = £154.06 a week of average earnings (£154.0625 before rounding). Below that the 80% limb applies: £100 a week gives £80.00, £150 gives £120.00. Above it the flat £123.25 applies: £200 gives £123.25, which is 61.6% of earnings; £300 gives 41.1%; £500 gives 24.7%. Over 28 weeks the flat rate totals 28 x £123.25 = £3,451.00, and an employee on £150 a week gets 28 x £120.00 = £3,360.00. Eight weeks of pay totalling £1,000 averages £125.00, so SSP is 80% = £100.00 a week, or £2,800.00 over 28 weeks.

Source: GOV.UK, "Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): what you'll get" (https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/what-youll-get) and "Sick pay rates" (https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay/sick-pay-rates). Read 30 October 2026. Figures used: £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower; paid for up to 28 weeks; earnings averaged over eight weeks. The pages fetched did not state the tax year of the rate, waiting days, the daily rate or the eligibility earnings limit.

Full guide: Statutory Sick Pay: £123.25 a week or 80% of earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks, worked for a client's employee

At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks: £12.71 gives £508.40 a week and £26,436.80 a year; £10.85 gives £434.00 and £22,568.00; £8 gives £320.00 and £16,640.00. The gap between the 21 and over and 18 to 20 rates is £1.86 an hour, or £74.40 a week. A worker paid £10.85 for 4 weeks after turning 21 is short £297.60. A 20-year-old in the second year of an apprenticeship moves from £8 to £10.85, £114.00 more a week. The April 2027 rates are 3.9%, 3.9% and 3.9% higher (£0.50, £0.42 and £0.31 an hour).

Source: GOV.UK, "National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates" (https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates). Read 29 October 2026. Rates from 1 April 2026: 21 and over £12.71, 18 to 20 £10.85, under 18 £8, apprentice £8; rates from 1 April 2027: £13.21, £11.27, £8.31, £8.31; apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, or 19 or over in the first year of the apprenticeship.

Full guide: National Minimum Wage from April 2026: £12.71, £10.85 and £8 an hour, and how to check a client's pay run, worked

Band = £50,270 - £6,240 = £44,030. Pay £28,000: £21,760 in the band, employer 3% = £652.80, employee 5% = £1,088.00, total £1,740.80 (£145.07 a month). Pay £10,000: £3,760 in the band, total £300.80. Pay £50,270 or more: £44,030, employer £1,320.90, employee £2,201.50, total £3,522.40. Pay £6,000: nothing in the band. £520 x 12 = £6,240.

Source: GOV.UK, "Workplace pensions: what you, your employer and the government pay" (minimum employer 3%, employee 5%, total 8%, from April 2019; calculated on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year before tax; employer pays nothing below £520 a month, £120 a week or £480 over 4 weeks) and GOV.UK, "Workplace pensions: joining a workplace pension" (automatic enrolment if aged between 22 and State Pension age and earning at least £10,000 a year). Read 28 October 2026.

Full guide: Auto-enrolment pension: 8% of earnings between £6,240 and £50,270, worked for a client's employee

Flat rate per month by hours: 25 to 50 hours £10, 51 to 100 hours £18, 101 hours or more £26. A full year at each band: £120, £216, £312. A mixed year of 6 months at £10, 4 at £18 and 2 at £26 is £60 + £72 + £52 = £184. Break-even against £312 a year is £26 a month of actual business share. Illustration: household bills of £2,400 a year with one room in five used gives £480, which is £168 more than £312.

Source: GOV.UK, "Simplified expenses: working from home" (flat rates of £10 for 25 to 50 hours, £18 for 51 to 100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more a month; only if working 25 hours or more a month from home; the flat rate does not cover phone or internet costs) and GOV.UK, "Simplified expenses" (open to sole traders and partnerships with no company partners; not for limited companies; optional; other expenses at actual cost). Read 27 October 2026.

Full guide: Working from home: the £10, £18 or £26 a month flat rate for a sole trader client, worked

12 months: £1,000,000. 9 months: 9/12 x £1,000,000 = £750,000; 6 months: £500,000; 15 months: £1,250,000. Purchases of £1,180,000 in 12 months leave £180,000 over the limit. Purchases of £820,000 in 9 months leave £70,000 over the £750,000 limit. A £30,000 asset used 80% for business gives £24,000. Two companies with one controller share £1,000,000, for example £600,000 and £400,000.

Source: GOV.UK, "Annual Investment Allowance" (the AIA amount is £1 million; a new allowance for each accounting period; adjust for a period shorter or longer than 12 months, example 9/12 x £1,000,000 = £750,000; claim only in the period of purchase; contract date if payment is due within 4 months, otherwise the payment due date; business cars excluded; mixed use reduces the claim; companies under the same control share one allowance; no AIA for items bought in the final period before closure). Read 26 October 2026.

Full guide: Annual Investment Allowance: £1 million a period, cut pro rata for a short accounting period, worked for a client

Estimate £8,400. Monthly: £8,400 x 10% = £840, nine payments = £7,560. Quarterly: £8,400 x 25% = £2,100, three payments = £6,300. Actual £9,600 gives balancing payments of £2,040 (monthly) or £3,300 (quarterly). Actual £7,200 gives £360 back (monthly) or £900 balancing payment (quarterly).

Source: GOV.UK, "VAT Annual Accounting Scheme" with its sub-pages "Eligibility", "Join or leave the scheme" and "Return and payment deadlines" (join at £1.35 million or less estimated taxable turnover; leave above £1.6 million; monthly payments 10% at the end of months 4 to 12; quarterly 25% at months 4, 7 and 10; balancing payment and return within 2 months of the year end). Read 24 October 2026.

Full guide: VAT Annual Accounting Scheme: nine payments of 10%, then a balancing payment, worked for a client

Employer NI is (salary - £5,000) x 15%. £18,000 gives £13,000 x 0.15 = £1,950; £30,000 gives £25,000 x 0.15 = £3,750; £60,000 gives £55,000 x 0.15 = £8,250. Monthly, the £417 threshold gives (£2,500 - £417) x 0.15 = £312.45, and £312.45 x 12 = £3,749.40, which is £0.60 below the annual £3,750.

Source: GOV.UK, "Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027" (secondary threshold £96 a week, £417 a month, £5,000 a year; employer rate 15%; Employment Allowance £10,500). Read 23 October 2026.

Full guide: Employer National Insurance for a client's new hire: 15% above £5,000 a year, worked for three salaries

A client with £25,000 taxable income and a £30,000 gain pays tax on £30,000 - £3,000 = £27,000. The unused basic band is £37,700 - £25,000 = £12,700, taxed at 18% = £2,286; the other £27,000 - £12,700 = £14,300 is taxed at 24% = £3,432. Total £2,286 + £3,432 = £5,718. A higher rate taxpayer would pay £27,000 x 24% = £6,480, which is £762 more.

Source: GOV.UK, "Capital Gains Tax: allowances" (annual exempt amount £3,000 for individuals, £1,500 for trusts) and GOV.UK, "Capital Gains Tax rates" (24% for higher and additional rate taxpayers from 6 April 2026; 18% within the basic rate band, which the page's example gives as £37,700 for 2026 to 2027). Read 22 October 2026.

Full guide: Capital Gains Tax on a client's share sale: the £3,000 allowance and 18% or 24%, worked for a £30,000 gain

On 14,000 business miles in 2026 to 2027, the car rate gives (10,000 x £0.55) + (4,000 x £0.25) = £5,500 + £1,000 = £6,500; at the old 45p first-tier rate the same miles would give £5,500, so the rise is worth £1,000. If an employer pays a flat 30p a mile (£4,200), the unused balance is £6,500 - £4,200 = £2,300, which is £460 of tax at 20% and £920 at 40%.

Source: GOV.UK, "Simpler income tax (simplified expenses): vehicles" and GOV.UK, "Expenses and benefits: business travel mileage - rules for tax" (car and van 55p first 10,000 miles from 6 April 2026, 45p before, 25p after; Mileage Allowance Relief on the unused balance). Read 21 October 2026.

Full guide: Business mileage for a client: 55p for the first 10,000 miles, 25p after, worked for 14,000 miles

On £3,000 gross in a month, the Plan 2 deduction is (£3,000 - £2,448.75) x 9% = £49.6125, taken as £49; Plan 5 £82, Plan 1 £68, Plan 4 £16 and a postgraduate loan £75. In a £6,000 bonus month the same Plan 2 employee has £319.6125 deducted (£319), which is 6.5 times the £49 of a normal month.

Source: GOV.UK, "Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027" (loan thresholds, monthly figures and 9% / 6% rates) and HMRC Collection of Student Loans Manual, CSLM10111 (9% over the threshold, same gross pay as secondary Class 1, non-cumulative) and CSLM17065 (round the excess times the rate down to the whole pound). Read 20 October 2026.

Full guide: Student loan deductions on a client's payroll: 9% over the plan threshold, worked for a £3,000 monthly wage

At 15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold, an employee on £28,000 costs the employer £3,450 a year in National Insurance, so the £10,500 allowance covers 3 such staff in full (£10,350) and leaves £3,300 to pay on 4 and £6,750 on 5. A company whose only employee is its director gets nothing.

Source: GOV.UK, Employment Allowance (claim-employment-allowance) and Employment Allowance eligibility (claim-employment-allowance/eligibility); GOV.UK, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (15% employer rate, £5,000 annual secondary threshold, £10,500 allowance). All read 6 October 2026.

Full guide: Employment Allowance in 2026 to 2027: which clients can claim the £10,500, and how many staff it covers

ICAEW's guidance, read on 1 October 2026, says an accountant has a lien over a client's documents only where four conditions are all met: the documents belong to the client who owes the money, they arrived by proper means, the practice has done work on them, and the unpaid fees are for that work. No lien can be asserted over a company's accounting records as defined in section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.

Source: ICAEW "Documents and records: ownership, lien and rights of access" (published 1 September 2006, updated 16 March 2014) and helpsheets "Exercising liens" (reviewed 8 August 2025) and "Change of professional appointment - outgoing accountant" (updated 29 October 2025); Companies Act 2006, sections 386 and 388 (legislation.gov.uk); GOV.UK "Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery" and "Make a court claim for money: Court fees"; Bank of England Bank Rate page; all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: Can an accountant keep a client's records until the fees are paid? The four conditions for a lien, and the records you must hand back

We wrote ten questions from the rules set out in 8 of our guides; for 4 of the ten the answer that is in order is "no", so the check cannot be passed by ticking yes. The first asks: Does every client's engagement letter give a date for sending records that falls before the filing deadline? A records date 18 days after each period ends (23 July, 23 October, 23 January and 23 April for standard MTD quarters) leaves the practice 15 days before the 7th. Records sent on the deadline leave none.

Source: GOV.UK MTD quarterly update deadlines; GOV.UK Making Tax Digital for Income Tax guidance; GOV.UK "Add your client authorisations for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax"; GOV.UK "Authorise an agent for taxes that use the digital handshake"; GOV.UK "Fees you'll pay for money laundering supervision"; ICAEW Code of Ethics 2026, section 320; ICAEW Code of Ethics 2026, section 320; ICAEW helpsheet; Companies House identity verification guidance; Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 40; ICAEW "Client disengagement" and "Disengagement letters" helpsheet; each rule is set out with its source in the guide the question links to. The test record is in tests/readiness/tools-check.txt.

Free tool: Accountancy practice readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on MTD, AML, clearance and client records

On 1 October 2026, for a practice with 14 users and 600 clients, the published prices came to £5,712 a year on Karbon's Team plan and £8,232 on its Business plan (annual billing), £5,729.50 plus VAT on BrightManager Essential, £3,091.20 on IRIS Elements Practice Management's 12-month rate for 10 to 19 users and £2,028 on Engager's tier for 501 to 600 clients. Senta's own site now says Senta is IRIS Elements Practice Management.

Source: karbonhq.com/pricing; iris.co.uk IRIS Elements Practice Management pages; senta.co; engager.app/pricing and taxcalc.com/pricing; brightsg.com BrightManager page; all read in a browser on 2026-10-01. An earlier version of this page gave Karbon in US dollars, an IRIS price that applies only at 500 users and no BrightManager price; all three were corrected from the suppliers' own pages the same day. Desk check only: we did not request quotes or trial any product.

Full guide: Practice management software prices: who publishes them, and what a 14-person practice would pay

On the example hours for a small accountancy practice (34 office hours a week, 25 of them on six jobs a tool can prepare, a quarter of each kept for checking), 18.8 hours a week could be handed over: 55% of the total, costing £12,938 a year at £15 an hour over 46 weeks.

Source: Arithmetic on the hours entered; the checking share is our stated assumption and can be changed. Rules behind what stays with the accountant: HMRC Making Tax Digital for Income Tax guidance; Money Laundering Regulations 2017 as applied by the accountancy supervisors

Free tool: Admin scorecard for accountancy practices: how many hours a week could AI prepare for you to check, job by job

Guidance published on 19 January 2026 by the seven PCRT bodies, ICAEW and ACCA among them, says putting client data into a publicly available AI tool is likely to breach client confidentiality unless the client has consented. On 1 October 2026 the two cheapest business plans whose vendors say they do not train on customer content by default cost £15 a user a month (ChatGPT Business) and £18 a seat a month (Claude Team), both billed annually.

Source: ICAEW, "Topical guidance covering the application of PCRT to the ethical use of artificial intelligence tools" (19 January 2026), PCRT effective 1 January 2026 (paragraph 1.11) and "Generative AI and ethics"; ICO, "When do we need to do a DPIA?" and "Guidance on AI and data protection" (updated 15 March 2023); pricing pages of ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude and Google Workspace; OpenAI "Enterprise privacy" (8 January 2026) and "How your data is used to improve model performance"; Microsoft Learn "Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot" (18 August 2026); Anthropic privacy centre; Google Workspace generative AI privacy hub (14 August 2026); all read in a browser on 2026-10-01. Desk check only: we did not buy or test any plan.

Full guide: Can accountants use ChatGPT, Copilot or Claude with client data? Plan prices, training terms and the PCRT consent rule

A client who takes four hours of bookkeeping a month, four VAT returns at 1.5 hours, nine hours at year end, three payslips a month and an hour a month of emails and chasing uses 81 hours a year. At £55 an hour plus £18 a month of software, the fee needed is £389.25 a month; a fee of £250 a month pays £34.37 for each hour worked.

Source: Our own arithmetic, shown in full on the page and checked by hand. The test record is in tests/penny/tools-check.txt.

Free tool: Client fee calculator for accountants: what a monthly fee pays you for each hour worked

On the Companies House fee list, updated 25 September 2026 and read on 1 October 2026, incorporation costs £100 online and £124 on paper, and the confirmation statement costs £50 online and £110 on paper, once in each 12-month payment period. A practice filing 60 confirmation statements, 4 incorporations, 2 changes of name and 3 strike offs in a year pays £3,479 online, against £7,210 for the same filings on paper.

Source: GOV.UK "Companies House fees" (updated 25 September 2026); Companies House fees determination made 25 June 2026, in force 1 July 2026; GOV.UK "Filing your company's confirmation statement" (updated 21 April 2026), "File your confirmation statement (annual return) with Companies House", "Set up a private limited company: Register your company" and "VAT: costs or disbursements passed to customers"; all read 2026-10-01.

Full guide: How much do Companies House fees cost in 2026? The filing fees a practice pays for company clients, worked for 60 companies

ICAEW's guidance, read on 1 October 2026, calls a written disengagement letter best practice and lists five things it gives the client: what has been done, what remains, the dates by which it must be done, any further work the practice will do, and the fees due. GOV.UK adds that an agent removes a client separately in each HMRC online service and loses access to that client's data on doing so.

Source: ICAEW "Client disengagement" page; ICAEW helpsheets "Disengagement letters" (reviewed 29 November 2021), "Resigning close to tax filing deadline" (updated 29 November 2023) and "Change of professional appointment - outgoing accountant" (updated 29 October 2025), public sections only; ICAEW "Documents and records: ownership, lien and rights of access"; GOV.UK "Change or remove your authorisations as a tax agent" (18 July 2025); Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 40; all read 2026-10-01.

Free tool: Disengagement letter template for accountants: how to stop acting for a client, with a status report to copy