Tax services that looks beyond the tax return
No one wants to pay tax. But with the right advice, you can make sure you’re not paying more than your fair share while staying firmly on the right side of HMRC. At Smethurst & Co, we see you as a whole person, not just a self-assessment return. Your personal finances, business interests, and property investments are all connected – and our personal tax services are designed to look at the complete picture.
Many people assume personal tax is simple – you earn money, you pay tax, end of story. But the reality is that proper tax planning can make a significant difference to your wealth over time. The UK tax system is incredibly complex, with reliefs, allowances and rules that change every year. Without expert guidance, it’s easy to miss opportunities to legitimately reduce your tax bill or, worse, accidentally fall foul of compliance requirements.
A personalised approach to tax
Everyone’s financial situation is unique. That’s why we don’t do generic tax advice.
Whether you’re a company director, a landlord with multiple properties, planning for retirement, or thinking about passing wealth to the next generation, we’ll create tax strategies tailored specifically to your circumstances and goals, working in partnership with other specialists were required to ensure you get the best advice.
MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA)
MTD (Making Tax Digital) has been talked about for a while, with HMRC extending deadlines, but finally, it looks like it’s happening, so your business needs to be ready.
MTD is HMRC’s ambitious plan to bring the UK tax system into the 21st century. Put simply, it means doing away with the traditional annual tax returns to be replaced by keeping digital records and quarterly updates alongside the annual declaration to HMRC.
The idea is to make tax administration more effective, efficient, and easier for taxpayers to get it right. Sounds great in theory, but it means significant changes to how you manage your business finances.
The latest timeline or Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA)
- From April 2026 – Self-employed individuals and landlords with income over £50,000
- From April 2027 – Self-employed individuals and landlords with income over £30,000
- From April 2028 – Self-employed individuals and landlords with income over £20,000
- Beyond 2028 – Potentially all self-employed people and landlords (but no confirmed date yet)
Our personal tax services
As a company director, the line between your personal and business finances is often blurred. The way you take income from your company can make a huge difference to your overall tax position.
Our director’s tax services includes:
- Salary vs. dividend optimisation to find the most tax-efficient mix
- Benefits and expenses planning to minimise both corporate and personal tax
- Pension contribution strategies that benefit both you and your company
- Company car vs. allowance analysis based on your specific circumstances
- Director’s loan account advice to avoid unexpected tax charges
- Exit and succession planning to minimise tax when you eventually sell or pass on your business.
Director's tax - balancing your business and personal position
Working out what VAT you owe (or are owed) isn’t always straightforward, especially if you:
- Deal with reduced-rate or zero-rated goods and services
- Make exempt supplies
- Trade internationally
- Have a mixture of business and non-business activities
Our VAT team will:
- Review your sales and purchase transactions
- Apply the correct VAT treatments
- Identify any potential issues before they become problems
- Calculate any partial exemptions
- Calculate your VAT liability accurately
- Look for legitimate ways to minimise your VAT costs
Submitting VAT returns on your behalf
Missing VAT deadlines or making errors on your return can result in penalties, interest charges, and unwanted attention from HMRC.
With us handling your VAT returns, you’ll never again have that last-minute panic when you realise the deadline is tomorrow.
Property tax - making the most from your portfolio
The tax landscape for landlords has become increasingly challenging in recent years, with restricted mortgage interest relief, additional stamp duty, and complex reporting requirements.
Our property tax services includes;
- Structure optimisation (personal ownership vs. company vs. partnership)
- Income tax planning for rental income
- Capital gains tax strategies for property disposals
- Assistance with HMRC’s Property Income disclosure campaigns
- Loss relief planning to use property losses effectively
- Navigating complex areas like rent-a-room relief, principal private residence relief, and lettings relief
Whether you own one rental property or a substantial portfolio, we’ll help you structure your property affairs for maximum tax efficiency.
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Our pricing promise
We don’t promise to be the cheapest, nor are we the most expensive.
What we are is fair and competitively priced. Fair in our pricing, fair throughout the work we do for you, and fair in genuinely investing time to support you and your business.