Mid-sized businesses free tax advice
27 September 2017, Companies, Employer, Creative Industries
HMRC has announced extra help from its tax specialists to offer mid-sized businesses free tax advice
Mid-sized businesses free tax advice
Who wouldn’t want free tax advice? Well HMRC has launched a new service. The new support is split into two service streams:
- all mid-sized businesses will have access to the “mid-size business Customer Engagement Team” who will be on hand to answer any complex tax questions they may have;
- growing mid-sized businesses will be able to apply to have a dedicated HMRC tax specialist. The specialist from the Growth Support Service will help you with matters such as getting your tax right before you file your return and providing advice on any tax incentives and reliefs you may be eligible for. HMRC’s guidance defines what type of growth would qualify for direct support.
Who qualifies as a mid-sized business?
Before you can qualify for the HMRC mid-sized business free tax advice, you need to work out if you are indeed a mid-sized business. The criteria are either one of the following:
- Annual turnover of at least £10 million
- At least 20 employees by headcount. The method of counting staff is the same as for company accounts. This means if you have 20 part time staff on 50% contracts, you have 10 full time equivalent staff, but you still qualify on the headcount of 20.
The Growth Support Service
The Growth Support Service will appoint a dedicated tax specialist to work with you (or your agent) and help you:
- understand any new tax issues and reporting requirements
- get your tax right before you file your return
- consider reporting and governance risks caused by the growth of your business
- access any financial incentives and reliefs you may be eligible for
- access other HMRC specialists, services and guidance that are relevant to you
Your growth support specialist will contact you and agree the period for which you will be supported.
How can I access the HMRC support?
To get help with a tax question, you can e-mail the mid-sized business Customer Engagement Team at:
msb.customerengagementteam@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.
The guidance for growing mid-size businesses makes it clear that the dedicated tax specialist won’t be able to provide you with tax planning advice so it’s still important to get advice on tax matters from your own accountant.
Business support
HMRC won’t be able to provide business support or help you with financial reporting or payroll processing. For more information on the services that Alterledger can provide to give you time to concentrate on your business, please use the contact form below.
