Business Taxes

Shorts have more expert tax advisers than any independent firm in our region. We pride ourselves in continually discovering significant tax planning opportunities that others overlook.

Business Taxes

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The Shorts tax department has been absolutely fantastic – very proactive to any changes in law and saved our company a lot of money in terms of Corporation Tax paid.

Ashley Holmes, Penny Hydraulics Limited

The Shorts Business Tax team wants to get to know your business and its goals, so we can make tax work to your advantage.

Our team is experienced, strategic, and proactive, and our goal is not just to help your business survive and meet compliance, but to help it grow and thrive.

Doing business taxes differently

The traditional approach to business taxes focuses on compliance and little more than that. Compliance is crucial, but strategic tax planning can do so much more, both now and for the future.

This is where the Shorts holistic approach to tax comes in. By digging deep to understand your goals, we will present a strategic approach to your business taxes ensuring you can achieve your objectives in a tax efficient manner.

Our team takes the time, listens, and develops a complete understanding of your business, to create a strategy to make your business as tax efficient as possible. Your aspirations will inform your bespoke tax plan.

A step by step guide to Business Taxes

What we do

Our expert tax team make business tax planning not an endurance but an opportunity. By digging deep to understand your goals, we will present a strategic approach to your business taxes ensuring you can achieve your objectives in a tax efficient manner.

Our team of 14 Chartered Tax Advisers is the largest in the region and this range of business tax together with the quality of insight and advice we offer makes us truly unique.  We are highly experienced in providing businesses with all the tax advice they need including:

  • Tax efficient profit extraction for business owners
  • Rewarding and incentivising key staff, including share schemes
  • Tax efficient group structures
  • Minimising corporation tax
  • Maximising tax relief on Property and Equipment through Capital Allowance claims
  • Tax reliefs available to innovative businesses through our Radius service, including
    • Research and Development tax credits,
    • Patent Box relief, and
    • Grant Funding
  • Tax efficient succession planning
  • VAT compliance and planning
  • Tax structuring and advice relating to buying and selling businesses
  • HM Revenue & Customs enquiries and investigations
  • International taxes; and
  • Pensions

Do you pay technical staff to solve technical problems, perhaps developing processes, products or software?  If so, we are experts in helping you claim R&D tax credits from HMRC which give tax savings for innovating.  The savings are significant – usually equivalent to around a quarter of the amount you’ve actually spent.

Tax savings may also be available for Research and Development allowances where you’ve built research facilities or Patent Box tax relief where you make profits derived from patents.  We can even help you apply for Innovation Grants.

Our unique Radius service is designed to ensure that businesses claim their full entitlement to Government backed tax reliefs for innovation.  We have 100% success record with applications submitted – a testament to our unrivalled expertise, which has saved our clients millions in tax.

Our team of dedication innovation tax specialists spend all of their time advising innovative businesses.  That means you can relax and be confident that you’re being looked after by the experts.  And, because our team includes an ex-HMRC adviser, you know that your claim will be successful.

Every individual, company or partnership is affected by the complex rules of VAT on a daily basis.  However, it is probably fair to say, that VAT remains the least understood of all taxes. Which is why we set up our specialist VAT advisory department; here to help guide you through the complex maze of VAT legislation.

Our team help with all areas of VAT from relatively basic issues such as initial registration, the completion and submission of VAT returns and advice on how to correct errors and mistakes, through to more complex issues such as assessments, control visits, cross border transactions and DIY house builds.

Within our VAT team are professionals with extensive experience of providing VAT planning advice on commercial property transactions and we have a proven track record in helping our clients structure these to minimise the impact on cash flow.

Whatever your VAT query, our expert team are here to help.

Nobody likes thinking about the prospect of an HMRC Investigation, but enquiries are on the increase. In 2018/19, over £34.1bn was collected by HMRC from investigations and enquiries alone, and it doesn’t matter whether you are an individual or a business, HMRC can open an enquiry into your tax affairs at any time.

As your dedicated accountant, we’re here to help you manage any tax enquiries you might receive. It is vital to be led by specialist advice and guidance when dealing with HMRC. We will be able to translate the many complicated questions the taxman may pose, manage the entire conversation with the taxman, help you submit any required information and minimise the impact on your business or personal life.

However, the cost of supporting you throughout an investigation is not covered in our usual accountancy fees; this is where our Professional Fee Protection service comes in. Spend a little now to potentially save a lot later and take the stress, time and professional costs out of a tax investigation.

A holding company allows you to ringfence these assets, protecting them from creditors and other liabilities that subsidiary companies may incur. It is a separate parent company created to own a controlling interest in a subsidiary company or companies.

We have inserted holding companies for a number of our clients to protect a range of assets including property, plant and machinery, cash, intellectual property and investments from the risks of a trading company.

To find out more, speak to our Business Taxes team today.

Complete business tax planning, strategy, and compliance

Our business tax team provides your business with decades of experience across all areas of tax planning, strategy, and compliance, including:

  • Tax efficient profit extraction for business owners
  • Rewarding and incentivising key staff, including share schemes
  • Tax efficient business structures, and asset protection
  • Corporation tax planning, reduction, and reliefs (incl R&D and Capital Allowances)
  • HMRC enquiry assistance
  • Tax efficient succession planning
  • Corporate transactions (buy and sell side, including tax due diligence)
  • Employee Ownership Trusts
  • International tax planning
  • Setting up in business in the UK
  • VAT and Stamp Taxes
  • Property tax planning and structures
  • Business tax compliance

Our team of Chartered Tax Advisers is the largest of any independent firm in the region. By marrying the best insights and advice with the broadest range of specialisms, we believe our business taxes service is uniquely positioned to help you and your business succeed.

What our tax clients say about us

Testimonials

Shorts are excellent at spotting opportunities. It’s part of the relationship where Shorts come back to me and say "do you know about this?"

Stuart Murphy
Rollem Patent Products Limited

The R&D and capital allowances work we did in the last financial year with Shorts saved the Company a six-figure sum in Corporation Tax.

Ashley Holmes
Penny Hydraulics Limited

Shorts keep Vivid up to date with the latest legislation and are very eager to save us money where possible with tax planning. We’ve also benefitted from using Radius and will continue to do so.

Gerry Arcari
Vivid Creative Limited

Business Taxes Updates

Most recent Business Taxes news

Autumn Statement 2023: Other Tax Announcements

On 22 November 2023, Jeremy Hunt delivered the ‘Autumn Statement for Growth’. Against an improving economic backdrop, the Chancellor is keen to stimulate economic growth and highlighted 110 measures for businesses. In addition, there were significant statements relating to National Insurance changes and also the reform of work-related state benefits.

Read more

Autumn Statement 2023: Business Announcements

On 22 November 2023, Jeremy Hunt delivered the ‘Autumn Statement for Growth’. Against an improving economic backdrop, the Chancellor is keen to stimulate economic growth and highlighted 110 measures for businesses. In addition, there were significant statements relating to National Insurance changes and also the reform of work-related state benefits.

Read more

Autumn Statement 2023 - Summary of Tax Announcements

There were a few simple headline changes to taxes announced today by Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn Statement speech; with little additional detail being provided in the detailed analysis subsequently released by HMRC and The Treasury.

Read more

Whether your challenge relates to compliance or planning, our Business Taxes team is looking forward to hearing from you.

Let's talk tax!