accountancy fees

katiecoodle

Sorry if I've posted in the wrong place but I wonder if anyone here can give me advice?
My husband has 2 self employed jobs - by day he's a plasterer, and in the evenings he's a music teacher. He occasionally gigs at weekends too. He declares all the income, and likes to use his accountant to submit his return to the inland revenue.
Usually I collate the information (income & expenses) so its not really a heavyweight job for the accountant to submit the return. Occasionally the accountant can suggest extra expenses for us to claim, but by and large he usually only submits the tax return. Now our accountant usually charges c£100 for this, but he's gone and retired & sold his business to someone else. My husband wants continuity and would like to use the person who bought the business, but the new accountant has quoted £270 for the exact same job. Is this genuinely market rate for such a task?

Lovelyjoolz

No, £270 is excessive. My accountants charge £150 for this service for each of the four directors of my company.

Ask them if they can improve on it, and if not, shop around for a better deal.

Firefox1975

It's all a bit relative. Don;t know how involved or dedicated your first accountant was.

If the new accountant can save you an additional £200 per year in tax or investment advice then paying an additional £170 would be quite attractive! :-)

I would speak to one of the new accountants existing customers - if they are worth their salt they will give you a list as long as your arm to chose from!