Garry White and Company

24/09/2026

Why AI will never replace proper professional advice.

💡📊A financial adviser client recently rang me about one of his clients cashing in a long-term growth bond, producing a chargeable gain of over £400,000 for the 2026/27 tax year.

The client’s only other income is a modest pension of just over £20,000.

Naturally, the adviser ran the numbers.• AI calculated the tax due at: £83,400.

Naturally, the client panicked!

😱They brought the figures to me to review. As a Chartered Accountant, I actually look at the underlying tax legislation—not just what a computer screen spits out.

The computer (and the AI) made a classic mistake: it lumped the entire £400k+ gain into a single tax year, completely wiping out the client's Personal Allowance and slamming them into the higher and additional tax bands.

What both systems completely failed to account for were the intricate rules surrounding Top Slicing Relief—specifically how the calculation treats the annual "slice" of the gain to recalculate the loss of the Personal Allowance.

My calculation of the actual tax due? £2,514.

Guess who was right?

It certainly wasn’t AI.

AI is a fantastic tool for quick drafts and summaries, but when it comes to complex UK tax law, high-value decisions, and saving you an £80,000 tax headache—nothing replaces a qualified professional.

Don't let an algorithm compute your tax bill.

Talk to a Chartered Accountant!

📱💼

18/09/2026

HMRC ARE IN DISARRAY

In my 35 years as a Chartered Accountant, I have never experienced such a shambolic level of service from HMRC. This week, however, completely broke the camel’s back.

Here are just two examples of the sheer inefficiency currently impacting businesses and taxpayers:

Absurd VAT Registration Demands: I submitted an online VAT application for a client who had legally exceeded the registration threshold. This morning, the client flagged an email in his junk folder, asking if it was a scam. It wasn't. The VAT office demanded details of "Self Assessment payments made over the last 3 years" by 29th September 2026, threatening to cancel the application otherwise. The catch? The client has never made any Self Assessment payments.

The MTD Repayment Black Hole: After chasing a client's 2025/2026 tax repayment, HMRC explained that because the client joined Making Tax Digital (MTD) in April 2026, Self Assessment must transfer the funds to the MTD section (taking up to 4 weeks). The MTD section then handles the payout—except they currently cannot issue agent repayments, meaning taxpayers must wait up to 3 months. An officer admitted they have over 100,000 repayments currently on hold.

Whoever rolled out this MTD system clearly failed to test it adequately before going live. The system is fundamentally broken, placing unnecessary stress on business owners and financial professionals alike.

If you are receiving strange demands or experiencing unexpected delays with HMRC, please get in touch before responding—we are here to help navigate through this administrative nightmare.

12/08/2026

The first Making Tax Digital for income tax (MTD) quarterly update filing deadline of 7 August has only just passed, but HMRC is not letting the dust settle on compliance.

HMRC has previously indicated that it expected around 864,000 taxpayers to be required to join MTD from April 2026. Statistics published today indicate that over 570,000 have actually registered to date, with more than 436,000 successfully filing quarterly updates.

In the same announcement, HMRC has said that while it is happy with these figures, it is not going to wait for the remaining taxpayers to sign themselves up. Instead, starting this September, HMRC will sign up any remaining taxpayers it believes to be in scope of MTD for 2026/27.

What is actually going to happen?

HMRC has said that, starting in September, it will sign up those taxpayers for MTD who should have joined earlier this year. Sign-up will happen in stages over the following months, with more detailed guidance to follow in August.

Importantly, this only affects those taxpayers who are mandated for 2026/27 – anyone required to join in April 2027 or 2028 is still expected to sign themselves up (or ask their agent to do this) in the usual way.

Once signed up by HMRC, the taxpayer will receive a letter or digital message (depending on their contact preferences) advising them what this means and the next steps they need to take.

This will include all the usual steps to get ready to use MTD, such as finding compatible software, starting to keep digital records etc. However, there will also be an additional ‘checking’ step recommended by HMRC.

We understand that taxpayers who are signed up by HMRC will be asked to log into their personal tax account/business tax account (or for their agent to go into their agent services account) and check that HMRC’s records are up to date.

Once logged into the relevant records, the account will list those businesses which HMRC believes to be active and within MTD from April 2026. There will then be the option to either confirm the details are up to date, or remove businesses that are no longer active and/or add any new businesses.

This is an important step, as HMRC’s records are based on historic tax return data, so failure to check might result in, for example, HMRC expecting quarterly updates for a business that is no longer being carried on.

Steve Drake F.C.C.A. ATT

06/08/2026

£60 FINES - HMRC - WATCH OUT

The £60 fine applies to company directors who fail to complete the new mandatory disclosure sections on Form SA102 (the Employment pages of the Self Assessment Tax Return).

Beginning in the 2025/26 tax year, HMRC introduced enhanced reporting requirements for directors of owner-managed or family-run companies.

What is a "Close Company"? A close company is a private limited company controlled by five or fewer shareholders/participators (or by its directors). This definition covers the vast majority of UK small businesses and owner-managed limited companies.

What Extra Information Must Be Filled Out? Previously, declaring dividends was largely grouped together on the main tax return, and director check-boxes were optional. Under the updated rules, if you are a director of a close company, you must complete a separate SA102 schedule for each directorship and disclose: Company Registered Name Company Registration Number (CRN) Exact Dividends Received from that specific company during the tax year Highest Percentage Shareholding held in the company at any point during the tax year

Why HMRC Issues the £60 Fine - Because these mandatory reporting boxes are administrative and do not directly recalculate your tax owed, they fall outside standard percentage-based accuracy penalties. To enforce compliance, HMRC uses its information-gathering powers under tax law to levy a fixed £60 penalty if these fields are left blank, incomplete, or omitted on your return.

No tax gap required: You can be fined £60 purely for missing or incomplete reporting boxes, even if you paid all your dividend taxes correctly. Multiple directorships: If you have direct multiple close companies, you must file an SA102 page for each one—even if you took £0 in dividends from that entity.

Steve Drake F.C.C.A. ATT

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02/05/2026

LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES

Running an accountancy practice gives me so much enjoyment and pleasure. No two days are the same. With over 700 clients in my practice I virtually have a client for each trade. No clients keep the same type of records.

I deal with vat returns, payroll, self-assessment tax returns, making tax digital submissions, corporation tax returns, tax planning, cash flow forecasts, charity accounts but to name a few.

Days can be stressful or easy going but usually something will happen that puts a smile on my face . Clients send me jokes (which I will tend to recycle) which can lighten the load when serious matters arise.

These days I have to pick and choose new clients as I cannot fit everyone in to my practice - sometimes I wish I could but I appreciate everyone has their limitations. I have to turn 3-4 away every week.

However I always try to find time for people in need of help in an industry that can be very daunting. I realise that I’m no good at building walls, fitting kitchens together, repairing leaks, fixing boilers etc but I’m pretty good at my trade - something I’ve done for nearly 40 years.

Today was no exception. First up was a local chap, not a client but had popped in to the office in the week. His father in law told him go and see Steve in town he will help you. Tax penalties totalling about £7k. I spent about 40 minutes of my time completing all tax appeals, went through them with him, got him to sign them and he then went and posted them off. Appeals back from 2012-2016 which could not be done online. Again no charge for my knowledge. Should be £7k in penalties cancelled by HMRC.

Next up a new client that needed my help. Unknown to myself it was a former Wales and British Lion rugby player. I felt honoured to help him like I do with all my clients.

A number of phone calls, a few other people dropping in to see me and a visit from my postman who always has a smile on his face - reminded me of my father - always had that smile on his face - always had faith in me to succeed in business and hopefully is looking down at me saying I told you so.

You see life is unpredictable, full of surprises and you cannot know what experiences (good or bad) you will get next, just as you don’t know the filling of a chocolate before you bite into it. You just have to accept what comes your way.

Steve Drake F.C.C.A. ATT