Is my accountant over charging me?

Vate2

Hi, sorry if this has been asked before but I think my accountant fees are very high and wondered if they are and what I should do. I live in Jersey CI and have a flat that is rented out in the UK. So I have two tax returns that need to be completed, Jersey and UK. I don't work so the Jersey one is fairly simple with no earnings here. The invoice states that it is a self-assessment for UK and Jersey and the tabulation of the income and expenditure for the UK flat. The invoice is for £900. seems a lot of money.

Socajam

I have a flat rented out in the UK and my accountant charged me £100 for self-assessment
Mine is fairly simple

inspectorperez

Ask your accountant for a breakdown of the time costs. Perfectly reasonable request and any professional accountant should have no problem in providing such information.
This should tell you how long it took to perform the work, the grades of staff used, and the commensurate charge out rates.
You should be able to draw your own conclusions from that information, but if not, request further explanations for any time you consider to be excessive.
You might also check the charge out rates which will be contained in your letter of engagement.

[Deleted User]

£900 is very high in my opinion. I would definitely shop around. On the other hand I would regard £100 as very low - perhaps a one man band with low overheads? Preparing a return is one thing. Dealing with HMRC is another. Sometimes you get the service that you pay for.

Socajam

purdyoaten2 said:

£900 is very high in my opinion. I would definitely shop around. On the other hand I would regard £100 as very low - perhaps a one man band with low overheads? Preparing a return is one thing. Dealing with HMRC is another. Sometimes you get the service that you pay for.

I can tell you that it's not a one man band.
My tax return is very easy, hardly anything to report - just my rent and expenses from the problem.
Maybe it's low this year because the property was not rented out, so next year, things might be different.
My problems with HMRC have been resolved after I messed up so now it's just doing my self assessment annually.

Thrugelmir

Have you asked for quotes from other accountants based in Jersey in order to make a comparison? 

Pennywise

It will depend on the quality of book-keeping etc.  You'll pay a lot more if you hand over a pile of random invoices than if you do some proper book-keeping that's accurate, added up, and analysed.  Just shop around to see what other firms will offer.