Unfair fee for preparing Self Assessment return?

SouthUKMan

I have been using the same accountant (part of a respected local accountancy firm) to prepare my self assessment tax return for the past four years. They've never been cheap but until this year I have been happy with their service. Due to working mostly PAYE in the 2013 / 2014 tax year, my self assessment paperwork consisted of a P60 and just 11 (yes, eleven!) very simple invoices totaling less than £1,000. There were no travel expenses to work out, no capital purchases to claim for, etc. The only claim was for about £60 of home office heating and electricity. For processing my paperwork and working out my due tax, I have been charged £295 (inc VAT). There was no discussion of fees upfront, they've charged more than in previous years and (due to the simplicity of my tax return this time around) they've done far less work for their money. Do I have a right to feel aggrieved? I want to complain and ask for a reduction, but do I have a basis on which to do so? I'm after a little bit of guidance please. What would be a fair fee for an accountancy firm to charge me?

mgdavid

SouthUKMan wrote: »

....... Do I have a right to feel aggrieved? .......

We don't know.
Did you ask for their standard rate card before re-engaging them for the year?
Did you specifically ask beforehand how much a simple SA return would cost?
Did you at any time consider doing this simple SA return yourself?
Did you speak to the accountant at any time during the year, perhaps wanting guidance or advice on tax or financial matters?

It does sound in the right ballpark for a professional. I wouldn't have thought it worth their while keeping a customer on the books for less.

chrismac1

Going forward ask them for a fixed price quote for the work they are doing for you - and if they won't give you one, find someone else who will!

The price you've paid is about £245 plus VAT. If that consisted of a self-assessment tax return and a set of sole trader accounts it is actually not all that bad. Because of things like anti-moneylaundering assessments and sundry other regulatory drivel, just having a client involves quite a bit of fixed costs. So most accountants have a figure below which they will not go, just for even doing a one page tax return. In my case that figure is £100 plus VAT for example.

You can question their fee. But a reputable firm will have invoiced you in line with their letter of engagement. So you're relying on their goodwill, and desire to keep you, to get the £295 reduced.

westy22

Download TaxCalc for £27 or so and do it yourself in less than 15-20 mins per year. Wonderful piece of software IMHO.

Pennywise

The only question is whether the fee is in accordance with their letter of engagement. It sounds like 1-2 hours work in total. If their letter of engagement quotes around £100-£150 per hour (as is common in typical town centre firms with many staff), then the invoice is fair and you've no grounds for complaint.

However, if their LOFE says £50 per hour, and they're claiming it took 5 hours, then clearly that's far too long and they're stretching their timesheet. If their LOFE says £50 per hour and they're charging £100 per hour, then again, they're wrong and you have grounds for complaint.

At the end of the day, if they're charging the hourly rate they said at the outset, and the time they've spent is reasonable, you've no grounds for complaint. If you don't want to pay such a high hourly rate, then you should have chosen a different accountant (Plenty will charge a lot less!) - like anything else, the choice is yours, if you want cheap and cheerful, you should shop around.

Cook_County

What qualifications does your adviser have? Any? None?

mgdavid

Cook_County wrote: »

What qualifications does your adviser have? Any? None?

The OP hasn't mentioned an adviser of any sort.

CKhalvashi

mgdavid wrote: »

We don't know.
Did you ask for their standard rate card before re-engaging them for the year?
Did you specifically ask beforehand how much a simple SA return would cost?
Did you at any time consider doing this simple SA return yourself?
Did you speak to the accountant at any time during the year, perhaps wanting guidance or advice on tax or financial matters?

It does sound in the right ballpark for a professional. I wouldn't have thought it worth their while keeping a customer on the books for less.

That wouldn't get my accountant for 2 hours at her standard charging rate (£145+VAT/hour, we pay around half this rate to have her on site for 24 hours a week), so it would depend on who did the return for you.

If it's a company like Tax Assist or a bookkeeper, I agree it's expensive, but if a qualified accountant, it sounds more reasonable.

As above, why did you not do this yourself at home, if your return is this simple?

SeniorSam

You seem to have used the Accountant previously and if he has not advised you of increases on the previous charges, you should ask why your account has increased.

The charges are not unreasonable and I paid an accountant £300 each year for similar work from many years. However, when queried, he was not prepared to reduce his charges and I decided to change to another firm at £75 plus VAT.

No harm in asking him about his charges, they get this all the time and if he cannot reduce your bill, you can look elsewhere.

Sam

martinkoss

westy22 wrote: »

Download TaxCalc for £27 or so and do it yourself in less than 15-20 mins per year. Wonderful piece of software IMHO.

Gotta say that £295 is a lot to pay (IMO) for a basic SA. I've been doing my own self assessment as long as I can remember and it is fairly straight forward. In years when I've been a bit lazy, I went down the TaxCalc route. Can't beat that.

I just keep up to date spreadsheets and tot them up at the end of the year. Tax return takes an hour.

Ballymackeonan

I think you would be justified in asking them for the reason for the increase, pointing out that there is less work involved than formerly. They should be able to give you an explanation.