What tools do you use for basic tax planning?

What tools do you use for basic tax planning?

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When a client comes to me asking 'What if . . . . ' tax questions - usually quite low level stuff regarding salaries, dividends, maybe a company car thrown in or selling an investment property, I find myself creating a bespoke spreadsheet for the purpose. Very inefficient and the result doesn't look particularly professional.

Does anyone use a simple tax planning software that:

a) Is cheap and easy to use

b) shows multiple scenarios on one page 

c) presents the results (not the full workings) in a neat style making it user-friendly with the client in mind, rather than me.

Thank you.

Replies (10)

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By EstherG
12th Feb 2014 20:14

We do the same as you!

We have created two spreadsheet templates to give ltd co illustrations and personal tax estimations, which we then save as a pdf with our colourful logo.  It looks neat and professional but like you we inevitably end up adding bespoke tweaks to tailor the information to the client asking the question.

Thanks (1)
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By Jekyll and Hyde
12th Feb 2014 20:46

2020 group tax tips
I use 2020 tax tips. Some of the templates arr good some are not so good.

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
12th Feb 2014 22:26

Tax Tips & Tools?

As with J&H, I used to invest each year in 2020's Tax Tips & Tools and it would stay unused for weeks or months but then one or two issues would pop up in the year that just about justified the cost.

This no longer happens and I'm much more likely to, research CCH online, call their helpline and  do a fag packet what-if on Excel to point a client in one direction or the other.  This is probably a symptom of few significant changes in legislation over recent years, ie getting used to the incorporation or not, company car or not and IR35 or not dilemmas.

Just remembered, I did make good use of the IHT tools on a number of occasions, I don't remember any other IHT calculators on the market at the time.

Spreadsheets and pretty what-if software can only do so much and so, in those days, I used to find Tolley's Tax Planning annuals far more useful, they pretty much covered every topic and gave great advice, can't remember them ever letting me down but, again, these days not a cost I can justify.

 

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Logo
By marks
12th Feb 2014 22:36

finansol

This is a handy bit of software for looking at 

1. Tax saving from incorporation

2. Ideal salary/dividend split (both for one man bands or where multiple shareholders)

3. Tax saving from using FRS for VAT v standard method.

Costs something like £130+VAT for all the modules for a year of the top of my head.

Mark

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Man of Kent
By Kent accountant
12th Feb 2014 23:26

I bought

2020 tax tips and tools and probably used it twice. 

It is a good product with plenty of content but I just never really used it.

I now do similar to Paul and use google for reference if its a non-'standard' calculation. Otherwise excel. 

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By SE_Confused
14th Feb 2014 11:18

absolute tax apps

i have come across this 

did you try it?

https://www.absolutetax.co.uk/absolute-apps.html

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Replying to Portia Nina Levin:
Red Leader
By Red Leader
14th Feb 2014 11:28

presentation?

You implied that you show the spreadsheet or other workings to the client.

I don't do this. Most clients have difficulty following a number-based schedule, though to us it's like reading a book.

Instead I explain it in text in narrative form.

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By JackHarper
14th Feb 2014 19:56

What's a spreadsheet?

I have always found that the trick was to know the answers (to the clients' questions as reformulated)

 

I find the enjoyment evaporates when anything is commoditised

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By deeagle.co.uk
15th Feb 2014 16:20

www.contractorcalculator.co.uk

I found this website to be quite useful:

http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/dividend_tax_calculator.aspx

but it is quite basic and limited in terms of the different scenarios.

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By Finansol Tax Calculators
24th Mar 2014 11:19

thank you for the recommendation Mark

To other readers - our prices start very low, depending on exactly what you need.

From 2014/2015 we will be introducing some new products, and including more tax information in our existing products.

www.finansol.co.uk

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