are u due any tax back

System

WHA - For those who might prefer to let someone else handle their affairs on average how much does a qualified tax advisor charge for their services?

WHA

Pam17 wrote:

WHA - For those who might prefer to let someone else handle their affairs on average how much does a qualified tax advisor charge for their services?

How long is a piece of string? All professionals, not just accountants, charge widely different rates. Qualified accountants doing personal tax return work will probably be somewhere in the range of £50 to £200 per hour

sarahlouise210

WHA - I can assure you that accountants can make very simple errors...state pension can be received at age 60 whereas age allowances are not allocated until you are 65!:rolleyes:

WHA

sarahlouise210 wrote:

WHA - I can assure you that accountants can make very simple errors...state pension can be received at age 60 whereas age allowances are not allocated until you are 65!:rolleyes:

Quite. If your accountant didn't know that and did your tax return wrongly, then I would be asking for a refund and getting someone else!

sarahlouise210

WHA - sorry I do not know how to include a quote but the accountant I was referring to was you! You said that the I.R. should have known that age allowances were due if a state pension was being received! The point I was trying to make is that it is not automatic to get age allowance,even on a low income, just because a state pension is being received as this can be received at age 60. simple error......! The original post was about The Tax Refund Co however and from personal experience I dont think you can really call them accountants! The actual "accountants"are not named - They have just (cleverly?) targeted the less knowlegable and the less confident who believe they cannot sort their tax affairs out themselves. Most(if not all) of their clients have simple tax affairs and have low/middle income.The Tax Refund Co habitually claim for small allowances and take their 40% for doing nothing else other than writing a letter.Paying someone 40% of an end result just for writing a letter cannot be considered money saving! True accountants such as yourself are valued by those with more complex affairs.

MarkyMarkD

sarahlouise! Haven't seen you around for a good while.

I agree with the consensus here - companies like the one mentioned are "ambulance chasing" and just creaming off money you could easily obtain for yourself with the aid of any number of free websites' advice.

I have read of cases where people have used this type of company one year, and had 40% of a trivial reclaim creamed off, but have then lost 40% of a huge overpayment claim taken the next year when they've actually claimed in themselves ... because the agreement with the "adviser" is an ongoing one, and the Inland Revenue are obliged to pay to your appointed agent until you tell them that they are no longer your agent.

So I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole personally.

The online tax return forms are so easy to complete that anyone with a basic amount of intelligence can complete them correctly and then automatically get the benefit of their allowances and expense reliefs. Admittedly things like mileage allowances, uniform allowances and the like are a bit more esoteric and harder to guess about, but again some online research should find you the answer to these issues.

savvy

Hi stockportgerbil
I have merged your thread with this similar one to keep all relevant information together.
Thanks
savvy

Pennywise

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER sign any tax refund over to someone else except yourself.

Last year, when I did my own self assessment tax return, (I am self employed), I calculated that I had overpaid by about £20. I noticed the option to give a tax repayment to charity, and ticked the relevant box, selecting my favourite charity.

After a few weeks, I got a statement of account showing that they hade made a repayment of several hundred pounds to charity, not just the £20 or so I expected.

To cut a long story short, as my business income had fallen very slightly, resulting in £20 less tax, it had fallen below the threshold for making two payments on account, so my Jan and July instalments were reduced to nil, creating a "false" repayment as the same amount (less the £20) was then due as a balancing payment the following January.

Inland Revenue couldn't do anything as they'd followed the procedures correctly. I am now in protracted argument with the charity to try to get back the massive "donation" but it doesn't look good. Worse still, I had to pay the same amount in the January, so it was a very expensive mistake.

telly-addict

They discussed either this or a different company on BBC Working Lunch a few weeks ago. That company took a fairly high proportion of any refund (40% rings a bell but that could be too high). As said before, they aren't doing anything that most people couldn't do for themselves and in addition they aren't necessarily qualified to provide you with more detailed advice if you needed it.

ctm_2

As others have said, don't bother with them. Go direct to HMRC (Her Majestys Revenue & Customs) to get your refund.

Why is it you think you may be due a refund?