If, like me you are a self-employed contractor, then choosing the right contractor accountant is an important step and requires a lot of research.
There are tons of ‘so say’ contractor accountants out there but there are also many general accountants that claim to know all the relevant tax codes but don’t.
First off, check whether you will actually get a face-to-face contractor accountant or just a faceless person at the end of a telephone in a call centre and you never speak to the same person twice.
It is really important not only to have one port of call, but also to have the direct line telephone number and email address of that person.
Also, they need to geographically located so that you can meet up from time to time. A face-to-face meeting saves so much too-ing ang fro-ing of emails and will really help get a lot covered in a short period of time.
Even if it’s a half hour drive like mine it is so worth it as I find emails and telephone calls never quite hit the spot for the big stuff.
Make sure your contractor account knows their tax codes and legislation. My advice would be to mug up on a lot of advice at both the HMRC website but also on other websites that are – how shall I put it – going to help you reduce your tax burden. By doing this you can ask them lots of awkward questions to ascertain their knowledge of this area.
There are two main tax codes, the IR35 and the S660A and they should know them back to front. But there are lots of ways to further reduce your tax bill that they should be aware of, and so ask them about various allowances and allowable expenses.
Picking a Contractor Accountant who really is clued up on all these things can make thousands of pounds of savings ffor you, whereas someone less skilled could inadvertently let you miss out on all these savings.
A Contractor Accountants for life, not just for Christmas – so do choose wisely.