I have been asked to recommend reference/study books for producing simple corp tax returns and fully unserstanding self assessment (income tax) for sole traders. I am a bit long in the tooth to be able to recommend such books and also used to be lucky enough to receive annual tax books and updates from (I think) a company called CCE???
Short of going down the study route (and the various study texts unless they are available 'to all')....and assuming some knowledge of tax, can any of you recomend such a text/texts??
so basically you're looking for a book that teaches just the basics... Isn't that a bit dangerous? bit like learning to drive a car but ommiting an understanding of road signs.
Personal opinion is that whilst you are not looking for a book that makes one into a tax expert you need something that covers everything to a sufficient level to be perceived as knowledgeable on the subject... Or at least more knowledgeable than the clients.
The books don't tell people how to fill in the HMRC forms, HMRC helpsheets are for that but they will give an understanding of the calculations and all of the bits that HMRC try to hide in the locked filing cabinet in the basement for which there are no stairs. (thankyou Douglas Adams for that one).
The book that I buy almost every year is this one :
The version of the Melville book above can't be looked inside. Last one that you could was for fa08 but the format hasn't changed at all so check out this link for a glance at the Melville book) :
Hope that helps to get you started but just to reemphasise the point from the top of the post, I don't think that tax is something that you can learn too selectively and people should have a good all round understanding of all aspects, even the bits that they will seldom if ever use.
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Start by being a tax deductible expenses nerd. It's really interesting, honest.
When I started doing my own SA returns, I read the Teach Yourself books on the subject. It helped with knowing where next to go. Paying an accountant in my case (oh noooo, the opposition ;) )
For anyone professionally doing SA returns and needing professional tax help, am I allowed to recommend a source to go to, Shamus?
if it's of genuine assitance to forum members then there is no harm in pointing people towards someone who is able to help them but it would be better if the professionals that you are referring to joined the site and offered their advice to all on here.... Of course, that implies offering the assistance for free which I'm assuming is not something that these professionals would be looking to sign up to.
As a general rule the site looks to be a source of knowledge in itself rather than referring people to third parties. Think of it more as a knowledge base rather than a networking site.
When it comes to people having specific problems they post on here, a few people give sometimes contradictory answers leading to discussions where points are ironed out and then hundreds read the discussions giving clarity to problems that hey might not even have thought of yet.
If we just referred people to third party assistance that wouldn't really help that many people so bringing in professional help is really just for quite specific cases that need more drastic assistance.
HTH,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
