Self-assessment tax return: client wants to learn how to do it

gwenb

Hello,
I have someone who approached me to ask me if I can teach him how to prepare his self-assessment tax return, so that he won't need the services of an accountant.
Is this normal practice?

TreadStone

I would say it depends what needs to be included. Does he only need an employment page ? If so, it should be straight-forward and he should be ok.

If, on the other hand, he needs full accounts, capital allowances, foreign income, rental property etc, I would tell him not to be a tight ar*e and put his hand in his pocket and pay for a professional to do it

MarieNoelle

Hi,

I find myself in a similar situation.
I am meeting someone next week who is about to set up his sole trade business. He just wants to know deadline for registering, record keeping and what expenses are allowable to claim. He made it clear he is happy to do the returns himself after a one-off meeting.

I wouldn't normally charge for that kind of advice with an on-going client but because he insists he won't need my services after this meeting we have agreed a one-off fee.

I think there is a drive by HMRC to encourage individuals to DIY and certainly the new .gov website is aimed at non-accountants. And with Making Tax Digital I wonder if we are going to see more and more of these one-off requests.

gwenb

I would have thought that by doing that, we'd somehow be shooting ourselves (and all other AAT Licensed Accountants) in the foot.
I would like to know AAT's views on this.