Where to get tax planning and tax advice in Oxfordshire

If you are one of the 5.5 million who have waited endlessly for this HMRC helpline, then you surely under­stand how frustrating it can be to find the answer to a simple question. However, when it comes to taxes, the answer is often ambiguous. In fact, the British tax system is notorious reported being one of the most compli­cated in the world! It is even estimated that this is the case in UK tax law over 30 times as many pages than the entire criminal law of the country. If you need clarity, you should definitely contact an experi­enced tax advisor. Ridge­field Consulting has offices in Oxford and Henley and has a team of experi­enced tax advisors to provide personal and business tax planning and tax advice.

What is tax planning?

Tax planning is the proactive management and reduction of tax liabil­ities to preserve wealth. The aim is not to avoid taxes entirely, but instead to use strategic solutions that can help reduce your tax burden, e.g. B. knowing how to access the available tax breaks and reliefs to which you may be entitled and under­standing how to plan purchases and disposals in a tax-efficient manner. Without proper planning, your overall tax bill may be higher than necessary.

What are the advantages of tax planning?

One of the main benefits of tax planning is that it allows you to reduce your tax liability. This means you have to pay less taxes on the money you earn. If you want to keep more, you can save it for a rainy day or use it toward a purchase goal, such as a new car. Alter­na­tively, you may want to invest it further through tax-efficient investment schemes or invest in pension schemes if you are saving for retirement.

Another benefit of tax planning is that you will be more informed about your tax situation. Tax planning is about looking forward to make predic­tions and forecasts for the future. Doing this regularly throughout the tax year will give you peace of mind knowing what taxes you need to pay and by when. Effective tax management will prevent you from missing deadlines and incurring HMRC fines and penalties.

Finally, effective tax planning and sound tax advice can play a highly supportive role in achieving your desired lifestyle, personal needs and goals. Whether you’re planning to start a family or start your own business, tax planning can help you make important, crucial decisions and give you the peace of mind that you’re starting off on the best foot.

Is tax planning unethical or illegal?

Tax planning is neither unethical nor illegal because it is not the same as tax avoidance or tax evasion. Tax avoidance is generally considered unethical because, although it is achieved through legal means, it involves manip­u­lating the tax system and exploiting loopholes. It is therefore seen as an exploitation of tax regula­tions and not their appli­cation in the intended manner. It allows the person or company to avoid paying taxes that would otherwise be used to finance public services and the country’s infra­structure.

At the other end of the spectrum, tax evasion is categor­i­cally illegal. Instead of exploiting the tax laws for one’s own advantage, it means delib­er­ately concealing or fraud­u­lently falsi­fying infor­mation in order to avoid taxes entirely. Tax evasion is a serious crime and from 2024 the maximum penalty will double to 14 years.

Tax planning is different because it is a way of managing your tax affairs with the goal of reducing your tax burden through acceptable methods. This may mean taking advantage of any tax relief that HMRC wanted to offer. Tax planning is a smart way to take advantage of as many tax breaks and reliefs as possible to reduce your taxes and be as tax efficient as possible.

Is tax planning the same as financial planning?

Tax planning is often confused with financial planning, but the two are funda­men­tally different, although inextri­cably linked. Financial planning or estate planning is about ensuring that there are enough funds to achieve desired financial goals, which can be achieved through a combi­nation of savings and investment strategies.

Tax planning, on the other hand, focuses on methods that allow you to keep as much of your income as possible, whether from work, savings or invest­ments. This is achieved through a variety of strategies, from using your personal allowance, to claiming expenses to reduce your taxable income, to using effective tax planning strategies that can reduce the tax rates relevant to your personal circum­stances. When you do tax planning with financial planning, you can build wealth much faster than without a plan.

Who can help you with tax planning?

To ensure you have accurate infor­mation, always consult a qualified tax advisor or accountant who has knowledge and experience in tax planning. Our team of accoun­tants at Ridge­field Consulting are available to assist you with experts based in our Oxford and Henley offices who can assist both individuals with their personal taxes and business owners with their business taxes. Our approach to tax planning is always to provide person­alized advice tailored to your own circum­stances and to help you achieve your short and long term goals.

When is the best time to start tax planning?

The best time to start tax planning is the beginning of a new tax year, i.e. the 6th^Th April annually. This is an important time to reflect on the past year, consider any new inten­tions you have for the coming year, develop a strategy, and review it regularly. By doing this as early as possible in a new tax year, you ensure that you can use all allowances for the entire year, rather than rushing to put things into action towards the end of the tax year.

So what about tax advice in Oxfordshire?

When it comes to seeking profes­sional tax advice in Oxford­shire, our accoun­tants in Oxford and Henley can offer expert advice in various areas of personal and business tax. From helping you determine your tax residency and whether you’re a UK resident, to helping you decide how to structure your business and the consid­er­a­tions you should make if you’re thinking about becoming self-employed, our The team is at your side with advice and support. Our tax advisors have experience inter­preting tax law and applying it to your individual situation to provide clarity about your tax situation. In addition, we can compare different tax treat­ments and solutions to assess which would be more tax advan­ta­geous for you. Please note that our tax advice is not the same as financial advice, which should only be given by one Profes­sional regis­tered with the FCA.

Where can I get free tax advice?

HMRC should be the best place to get free tax help, however, as we’ve already highlighted, they can be incredibly difficult to get through. You may also be able to get free tax advice from the two main tax help organi­za­tions in the UK:

At Ridge­field Consulting, we always support you in providing our services with as much proactive, free tax advice as possible. So if you are self-employed and we help you complete your self-assessment tax return, we will also answer any questions you may have about your National Insurance contri­bu­tions and other related tax issues.

Alter­na­tively, we offer a special tax advice service where you can book a consul­tation with one of our tax advisors. During these sessions, they can discuss all your tax questions with you or, if necessary, be there themselves to find the right answers you need. You will receive a person­alized tax report with the tax advisor’s results and any sugges­tions. Our tax advice goes hand in hand with tax planning. So if you are looking for a solution, for example to share ownership of a rental property between your children or to sell all or part of your business, we can definitely help you.

Finally, you can also sign up for our email newsletter, which will send you monthly updates of our latest tax guides. Our Tax Guides are a free resource on our website that regularly provides insight and advice on some of the most frequently asked personal and business tax questions.

What tax planning strategies can I use?

We’ve put together the different tax planning strategies you can use depending on the type of tax liability you may incur:

Income tax planning

Income tax planning can be beneficial for those with higher and additional income tax rates to reduce their tax burden, but also for those who need to declare income that is not taxed at source on a self-assessment tax return.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) planning.

CGT planning can be an effective strategy for those who have valuable assets that they want to dispose of now or in the future. Whether you want to release capital or simply gift it to loved ones, make sure you don’t get caught if you’ve made signif­icant gains since you first acquired your assets.

Inheritance tax planning

Inher­i­tance tax planning (also called estate planning) is important for those who have large assets but want to leave as much of their inher­i­tance as possible to their loved ones without having to deduct 40% on taxes. Our guide explains the different ways you can reduce inher­i­tance tax through gifts and gift exemp­tions and provides strategies for reducing the tax rate.

Corporate tax planning

Corporate tax planning is useful for business managers who want to ensure they take advantage of all possible tax reliefs that will help them reduce their corporate tax burden. We explain the different allowable expenses that can help you reduce your taxes while investing in the operation of your business.

VAT planning

Value Added Tax (VAT) is one of the largest tax burdens on entre­pre­neurs as they require you to file quarterly tax returns. Although it can be time-consuming to manage, there are also benefits, which we cover in our following articles.

What tax advice can we offer?

Our team can provide tax advice in a wide range of personal and business situa­tions. You can get started by accessing our free tax guides, organized by some of our most frequently asked questions and popular topics:

Advice on personal tax planning

Tax advice for the self-employed

Pension advice

Advice on family tax planning

Advice on property tax planning

Advice on corporate tax planning

Advice on corporate tax planning

Tax advice for company vehicles

Get tax planning help or specialist tax advice in Oxfordshire

If you need help with a tax issue, you can sign up for a tax planning consul­tation or tax consul­tation using our online form. Our accoun­tants in Oxford and Henley always strive to provide profes­sional advice that complies with tax rules and regula­tions whilst aiming to reduce your overall tax. We have expertise in supporting tax planning for individuals as well as corporate tax planning for limited companies. Find out if we can find a tax-efficient way to solve your problems and achieve your goals today.