Tax advisor for business AND its owner

[Jess55]

Hello,

Bit long-winded but I feel like the right expert must be out there.

I have a business which is doing alright. It is ten years old. I tend to draw everything as dividends but I think this may be inefficient as profits are well into the Additional rate. It has always done well but has really started to accelerate the last couple of years. I am the only shareholder.

Currently I receive no financial advice and have no tax accountant. A bookkeeper helps run the business finance, and a CIMA accountant audits annually (but does not advise). I try and keep the company finance process as simple as I can - supplier bills all on Amex, customers all on D/D or credit card CPA via Stripe.

Many years ago I had an accountant / tax adviser. He advised me to ‘invest’ in a film-making scheme which somehow produced a loss and meant no tax. It did not sound correct or ethical to me, so I did not proceed with this despite his protestations that all was above board. So I decided to just work with a bookkeeper and not get into anything complicated. I think this was the right decision, as subsequently I understand that the proposed scheme (which I declined to take up) was found to be an illegal evasion technique. I have had rather a lack of trust in financial advisors since.

But, I am worried I am making the wrong decisions in life, for tax efficiency - due to a lack of basic knowledge, and due to being a creature of habit. I am also the secondary earner in my household and I think for this reason, have not put my own business or my tax affairs first as a priority, which I really think I must now, or opportunities will be wasted.

Without doing anything incorrect, I think this can be improved! I think to improve this, I need someone who can advise both an SME, and also its owner. For example - I live in a flat I rent, and yet I own another flat I rent out. I did not realise that there was a capital gains discount on owning the same home you live in, and have never done this as I don’t like to be pinned down. So I have Additional rate tax to pay on any rent from the other property. And yet selling it would result in a large capital gains tax bill. Another example — I think I am probably missing a trick equally, by taking all the funds available out of the company and falling into in the additional tax bracket, instead of something cleverer. Google tells me that the best thing to do, is make a pension contribution. But, there does not seem to be any tax relief on pension contributions, unless I stay below an annual figure which is well below my earnings. So I am not sure Dr Google’s online advice is the right option for me as the pension contribution does not seem to have any particular benefit if it is not netted up.

I have looked for local financial advisors but I am just not sure that is the right profession - seems to be more a salesforce for various packaged financial products.

There are a few issues here as you can see. But also some positives. I am keen to get advice and listen to it and act on it. I am the sole shareholder. There are profits to work with. I also have another country to work with and hope to be doing more work there in the future. There are also some other property complications with houses and so on.

Perhaps there is an advisor out there, who works with SMEs and their owners, for the most efficient outcome? If so, I would be very pleased to be in touch. Or if this isn’t you, but you know what type of professional I should be talking to for this type of trustworthy (paid) advice, also very pleased to hear.

[AmeloViolet]

Contacting professional organizations in the industry may be a good idea.

[ReisMacand]

It's great that you're looking to improve your financial efficiency and maximize the opportunities available to you.
It sounds like you've had some negative experiences with financial advisors in the past, so finding someone trustworthy and knowledgeable is important to you. I can personally suggest a succession source financial advisor, as I have made a plan with one of them, and it works as expected. Another option would be to reach out to other small business owners in your network and ask for referrals. Personal recommendations can be a great way to find a trustworthy and experienced tax advisor. Hope it helps!