Accountants in Ashton-under-Lyne

No. Our Manchester office is at Phoenix House, 2 Huddersfield Road, Stalybridge SK15 2QA, and we work with clients across Ashton-under-Lyne (OL6 and OL7) by video call and by visiting them at their own premises. We would rather be straight about how this works than imply an office on every high street. If you would rather come to us, the Stalybridge office is a few minutes from Ashton and has parking on site. We also work with businesses in neighbouring Dukinfield, Droylsden, Denton and Oldham.

Yes. Cash businesses need particular care with record keeping, because they attract more HMRC attention than most. Having seen enquiries from the HMRC side, we know what draws one and how to keep your records ready for it.

Yes. We register you for CIS, check your deduction statements against what you were paid, reclaim overpaid deductions through your Self Assessment return or your company’s payroll, and prepare gross payment status applications. Many subcontractors who would qualify have never applied. If you also take on subcontractors yourself, we file your monthly CIS returns as a contractor.

A fixed monthly fee agreed before you commit, based on the size of the business and the services you need. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices. Our guide to how much an accountant costs explains what drives the fee.

Yes. We write to your current accountant for professional clearance and handle the handover. It normally takes two to four weeks and there is very little for you to do. If your books are on Xero, you simply invite us into the existing file.

Yes, and for company directors we would usually recommend it. Your personal and company tax positions affect each other, so splitting them between two firms tends to cost you money. We also prepare returns for landlords with rental income.

Yes. Merit is a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants, regulated by ACCA, and Chartered Tax Advisers, who work to the Chartered Institute of Taxation’s Professional Rules and Practical Guidance. Merit Accountants and Tax Advisors Ltd is registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA firm number 5533890). We are also a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider, so we can file at Companies House on your behalf.

Tell us. Late filing is more common than people think and it can be fixed. We bring the overdue accounts and returns up to date, deal with HMRC and Companies House, and ask for penalties to be cancelled where there is a reasonable excuse. Penalties grow the longer a filing is left, so waiting is the worst option.

Yes. If your company is solvent and has stopped trading, we prepare the final accounts and final corporation tax return, close the PAYE and VAT registrations, and apply to Companies House to have the company struck off. The application cannot be made until the company has gone three months without trading, and a copy must go to shareholders, creditors and employees within seven days of filing (sections 1004 and 1006 Companies Act 2006). Where the total paid out to shareholders before strike-off is £25,000 or less, and the company has collected what it is owed and settled its debts (or intends to), the payment is treated as capital rather than as a dividend (section 1030A CTA 2010). If the total goes over £25,000, the whole amount is taxed as a dividend, so above that level we work with a licensed insolvency practitioner on a members’ voluntary liquidation.

In either case the payment is normally taxed as a capital gain, and Business Asset Disposal Relief can bring the rate down from 24% to 18% on up to £1m of lifetime qualifying gains. To qualify, the company must have been a trading company and your personal company throughout the two years before the trade stopped: you held at least 5% of the ordinary shares and voting rights, were entitled to at least 5% of the profits and assets (or of sale proceeds), and were an officer or employee. The payment must be made within three years of the trade stopping (sections 169H to 169S TCGA 1992). Capital treatment is not automatic: if you carry on the same or a similar trade or activity within two years and avoiding income tax was a main purpose, HMRC can tax the payment as a dividend under section 396B ITTOIA 2005, so we check this before anything is paid out.