Fixed fee accountancy
Written by Ray Coman
Coman & Co provides a fixed fee service, which is agreed in advance. The scope of work is established in a free, initial consultation. A written estimate is agreed to prior to becoming a client. Our fees are based on time spent and level of skill used. We provide a service which is tailored to the needs of our client and we can accommodate a range of tax work. Nonetheless, we aim to be transparent and fair in our billing. Therefore, we have published our fees the price list below.
Fees are subject to VAT. Invoices are issued in arrears after completion of the accounts, Tax Return or other, tax related, assignment.
High earning employee, investor and pensioner Tax Return prices
Contractor company fixed fee prices
Small business accounting prices
Limited Liability Partnership prices
Unincorporated partnership prices
Company formation and company secretarial prices
Tax Return service prices
Our fees range from £50 to £350 for a single Tax Return. More detailed prices are listed below. Our yearly tax service, includes:
- Acting as your agent for the purpose of communicating with HMRC.
- Providing updates in the tax regulation that are relevant to you.
- Sending reminders about documents that are due, what tax to pay and when.
- Dealing with routine HMRC correspondence on your behalf.
- Responding to brief email queries regarding UK taxation and how it can be reduced.
- Preparing and filing your Tax Return for you.
- Two free of charge adjustments to your Tax Return once it has been prepared. Subsequent adjustments are subject to a fee of £85.
Fees are invoiced once yearly after the Tax Return has been prepared.
Landlord Tax Return prices
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Rental income up to £19,999 | 200 |
| Rental income between £20,000 & £49,999 | 250 |
| Rental income over £50,000 | 300 |
| Rental income up to £19,999 and employment or pension earnings | 235 |
| Rental income between £20,000 & £49,999 and employment or pension earnings | 285 |
| Rental income over £50,000 and employment or pension earnings | 335 |
| Rental income upto £19,999 and sole trader income upto £19,999 | 275 |
| Rental income between £20,000 & £49,999 and sole trader income £20,000 & £49,999 | 375 |
| Rental income over £50,000 and sole trader income over £50,000 | 475 |
| Rental income upto £19,999 and sole trader income upto £19,999 and employment or pension earnings | 310 |
| Rental income between £20,000 & £49,999 and sole trader income £20,000 & £49,999 and employment or pension earnings | 410 |
| Rental income over £50,000 and sole trader income over £50,000 and employment or pension earnings | 510 |
| Rental income and capital gains on disposal of property (refer to separate table for capital gains tax return)* | 240 |
| Rental income only for a non-resident landlord up to £19,999 | 240 |
| Rental income only for a non-resident landlord up to £20,000 & £49,999 | 290 |
| Rental income only for a non-resident landlord over £50,000 | 340 |
| Let property campaign disclosure for one year | 225 |
| Per additional year | 75 |
| Accountant's reference in support of a mortgage application or rental agreement | 25 to 125 |
*The fee is invoiced in two amounts: A Capital Gains Tax return is due within 60 days of completion. On the subsequent Tax return, a further £40 is added for the required capital gains disclosure.
Sole trader Tax Return prices
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Self-employment income upto £19,999 | 150 |
| Self-employment income between £20,000 & £49,999 | 200 |
| Self-employment income between £50,000 & £84,999 | 250 |
| Self-employment income (above the VAT registration threshold) | 300 |
| Employment or pension earnings and some consultancy income | 225 |
High earning employee, investor and pensioner Tax Return prices
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Employment or pension earnings, any benefits and tax deductible expenses | 125 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus foreign income up to £2,999 | 225 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus foreign income between £20,000 & £49,999 | 275 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus foreign income over £50,0000 | 315 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus investment income up to £2,999 | 185 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus investment income between £3,000 & £19,999 | 235 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus investment income between £20,000 & £49,999 | 285 |
| Employment or pension earnings plus investment income £50,000 | 335 |
| Employment or pension earnings and capital gains on shares and other investments up to 2,999 | 185 |
| Employment or pension earnings and capital gains on shares and other investments Between £3,000 & £19,999 | 235 |
| Employment or pension earnings and capital gains on shares and other investments Between £20,000 & £49,999 | 285 |
| Employment or pension earnings and capital gains on shares and other investments over £50,000 | 335 |
| Employment or pension earnings and consultancy income | 225 |
| Employment or pension earnings and trust income | 170 to 350 |
| Foreign, trust or investment income only | 125 to 350 |
| PAYE Coding Notice Query | 85 |
Residential Property Capital Gains Tax Return prices
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Capital Gains Tax return for 1 property | 300 |
| Capital Gains Tax return for 1 property where calculation includes imrprovement costs | 350 |
| Capital Gains Tax return for 1 property where calculation includes imrprovement costs and Private residence releif | 450 |
| Capital Gains Tax return for 1 property where calculation includes Private residence releif only | 400 |
Contractor company fixed fee prices
We provide a facility to manage all accounting and tax compliance requirements of a limited company contractor. However, an itemisation of fee also follows to allow for a more cost effective alternative.
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of Filleted Accounts, Full Accounts, Company Tax Return and corporation tax calculation for electronic filing with HMRC and Companies House | 485 |
| Optional extras: | |
| Preparation and filing of annual confirmation statement | 35 |
| Preparation of Tax Return to include salary and dividends from the company and calculation of any tax thereon per director* | 85 |
| Monthly payroll for one director up to the national insurance earnings threshold @ £7.50 per month** | 90 |
| Leaver: Processing for P45 (In addition to Final pay) | 10 |
| Total | 695 |
| VAT @ 20% | 139 |
| Companies House filing fee | 13 |
| Payable | 847 |
*The charge could be higher where additional Tax Return entries are required, for instance for landlords
**Where there is more than one director, or the company has staff, please refer to the payroll section for additional charges.Some clients prefer to avail our service for providing a registered office. Since most correspondence is now conducted online, the registered office facility is for the purpose of excluding the business or home address from the public register.
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Annual registered office facility | 50 |
Small business accounting prices
Small businesses tend to have more complex accounting requirements than contractors. This is due to accounting for stock, assets, debtors, creditors and lease or other premises arrangements. Our fees are the same as for contractors, except for the company accounts preparation which would be as follows:
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of Filleted Accounts, Full Accounts, Company Tax Return and corporation tax calculation for electronic filing with HMRC and Companies House: | |
| Turnover below VAT registration threshold (same fee as for contractors) | 485 |
| Turnover between VAT registration threshold and £250,000 | 600 |
| Turnover above £250,000 | On request |
Please refer to the contractor section for additional fees that apply for payroll, director Tax Return and confirmation statement compliance Above Note that businesses with a turnover below the VAT registration threshold can use the cash basis for tax purposes.
Limited Liability Partnership prices
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of Filleted Accounts, Full Accounts and partnership Tax Return for electronic filing with HMRC and Companies House | 485 |
| Optional extras | |
| Preparation and filing of annual confirmation statement | 35 |
| Preparation of Tax Return to include partnership profit share from the LLP and calculation of any tax thereon: per partner | 125 |
| Total | 605 |
| VAT @ 20% | 121 |
| Companies House filing fee | 13 |
| Payable | 739 |
As for limited companies, there is an extra fee of £50 for use of our office as a registered address.Generally for an LLP, there is no requirement for a payroll since profits are automatically shared between members.
Unincorporated partnership prices
The fee is inidcative subject to any additional work bringing accounting material to trial balance
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of partnership Tax Return | 150 |
| Optional extras: | |
| Partnership accounts (not obligatory and only if requested by client) | 75 |
| Preparation of Tax Return to include partnership profit partnership share and calculation of any tax thereon: per partner | 150 |
Company formation and company secretarial prices
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of application for strike off of the company | 50 |
| VAT | 10 |
| Companies House filing fee disbursement | 8 |
| Total payable | 68 |
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of application to register a company, and online submission to Companies House | 50 |
| Corporation tax registration with HMRC and appointment of Coman & Co as tax agent | 20 |
| Preparation of application to register the company for VAT (and if required flat rate scheme) | 75 |
| VAT | 29 |
| Companies House filing fee disbursement | 12 |
| Total payable | 186 |
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of company confirmation statement | 35 |
| VAT | 7 |
| Disbursement of online filing fee for confirmation statement at Companies House | 13 |
| Total payable | 55 |
| Service | Yearly fee (£) |
| Preparation of overseas entity update statement | 50 |
| Disbursement of online filing fee for overseas entity update statement at Companies House | 120 |
| Total payable | 170 |
Payroll service rate card
Payroll is not offered as a stand-alone service. It is only part and parcel of services we offer to business clients.
| Service | Monthly fee (£) |
| Fixed charge for operating a payroll or Construction Industry Scheme (see below for what is included and excluded.) | 5.00 |
| One director paid up to the employer's national insurance threshold | 2.50 |
| Per additional director (such as spouse) paid up to the employer's national insurance threshold | 2.50 |
| Per employee, or per director paid above national insurance threshold | 5.00 |
| Per any employee requiring additional workplace pension contribution calculation | 2.50 |
| Per subcontractor, processing and filing of CIS report with HMRC showing pay and tax deductions | 5.00 |
Payroll service includes:
- Registration as an employer with HMRC and set up of payroll, for which there is no extra charge;
- Processing of HMRC notices: Late payment or late filing, student loan and tax code notifications;
- Emailing of year-end P60 in March,and
- Except for sole director companies:
- Processing of monthly Real Time Information report to HMRC of pay, tax and other deductions;
- Emailed payslips;
- Advice on liability to HMRC for PAYE tax, NIC and student loan and date payable;
- Email report showing gross pay, deductions, pension and cost to the employer;If applicable, report of pension contributions payable.
The following aspects of payroll are excluded:
- Submission of a BACS report to HMRC;
- Filing of pension payment to the provider. We can instruct on employer and employee amounts for input by the client;
- Monthly payslips for directors paid up to the NIC threshold. This is to minimise paperwork. However, this service is optional as explained below;
Coman & Co does not accommodate a weekly payroll facility, only monthly.
Additional fees, usually for one-off work
| Extra service | Fee (£) |
| Paternity pay claim | 50.00 |
| Maternity pay claim | 100.00 |
| CIS refund claim* | 50.00 |
| Starter: Processing a new starter form (in addition to month one pay) | 5.00 |
| Leaver: Processing of P45 (in addition to final pay.) | 10 |
| Additional monthly payslip, though not required but nonetheless requested by director | 2.50 |
| Verification of subcontractor starters | 5.00 |
*A CIS reclaim would be required for limited company clients who have not obtained gross payment status.Payroll is invoiced yearly in March or on cessation of the scheme, whichever is the sooner.
Bookkeeping and VAT cost
Coman & Co. work closely with well established local bookkeepers and, on request, can refer clients to an appropriate provider. Rates typically range from £20 to £35 per hour. The flat rate scheme has efectively been abolished for most businesses. However, we offer a standard rate or flat rate scheme VAT prpearation and filng service for £40 per month.
| Service | Quarterly fee (£) |
| Preparation of VAT Return and calculation of VAT thereon (Per VAT Return) | 40 |
Tax advice hourly rate
Raphael Coman is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser. He has worked independently since 2009 and written extensively on UK tax. The charge out rate for personal tax advisory work is £105 per hour. This includes assistance with an HMRC tax enquiry. Letter of tax advice regarding, for instance:
- A proposed property transaction
- A divorce or separation
- Share restructuring for a small business
- Company acquisition and disposal
- Trust and inheritance tax arrangements.
- HMRC tax investigation
The scope of tax advice is agreed in advance. Unlike other tax services; tax advice is paid in advance. A concession on a subsequent Tax Return can be negotiated where related to the tax advice. Fees related to HMRC enquiries are below.
Tax service prices list
The table below includes a list of fees related to various tax services.
| Service | Fee (£) |
| Calculation of available annual pension allowance for one tax year | 150 |
| Per additional year | 75 |
| Claim for overpayment relief in statutory form to include one tax year | 200 |
| Per additional year | 75 |
| Per tax year filing of a disclosure of previously unreported income | 50 to 135 |
| Amendment to aspect of a Tax Return already filed | 50 to 135 |
| Let property campaign, worldwide disclosure facility or disguised remuneration, per tax year | 50 to 85 |
| Typical HMRC enquiry* | 75 to 300 |
| Complex HMRC enquiry, as an approximate only | 850 |
| Subsequent changes, once the two free adjustments have already been taken advantange of | 85 |
| Preparation of Financial statement, and accountant's certificate for the UK Border Agency, or mortgage lender proposes | 225 |
| Accountant's reference in support of a mortgage application or rental agreement | 25 to 125 |
*Coman & Co do not offer or resell tax investigation insurance. We can refer clients to financial advisers, insolvency practitioners and solicitors where the client request falls outside of our remit.
Fees estimates for UK tax work that is not listed above: Available on request.
Comments
I can accommodate your requirements. I expect my fee will be broadly in line with the estimate, although I would have to ensure that you have a proper system of control in place with a payroll which is not inconsiderable.
I have messaged you directly as well.
my name is Sian I am looking for a new accountant for file my end of year taxes and also to run my monthly payroll i have 12 employees.
I do my own VAT on an accounting app called Xero - I have looked at your prices online but just wondered if you could give me a more accurate idea of what it will cost me per month / year for your services
Sian