Adroit Accountax

12/10/2026

"Ghost your ex. Not your bookkeeping, not 31 January, not the brown envelope. Which one are you guilty of? DM us HELLO."

08/10/2026

Dividend tax went up in April 2026 and most company directors never noticed. The ordinary rate is now 10.75% and the upper rate 35.75%.

Sam pays himself a £12,570 salary and £30,000 in dividends, exactly as he did last year. Same company, same pay, same everything. His tax on those dividends is £590 higher.

The part that catches people out is not the rate, it is the timing. Tax on dividends taken this year is paid through Self Assessment in January 2028, often with a payment on account on top. The bill lands long after the money was spent.

Three things worth doing before the year end: recalculate January at the new rates, set the difference aside monthly, and review the salary and dividend split while you still can.
Send us last year's split and we'll show you this year's bill.

General information, not advice.

24/09/2026

Five things we don't do. Every one of them is a deliberate choice about how an accountancy firm should work.

1. We don't bill you for asking.
A quick question by email or phone doesn't generate an invoice. If you have to weigh up the cost before you ask, you'll stop asking — and the questions people don't ask are the expensive ones.

2. We don't wait until January to tell you what you owe.
You should have a rough idea of your bill months before it's due. A number that appears in January and you've never seen before isn't advice. It's an invoice with extra steps.

3. We don't file anything you haven't read.
Your return goes to you before it goes to HMRC. Your name is on it and your signature is behind it, so you see it first. Every time.

4. We don't explain things in words you have to look up.
If you need to Google a sentence we wrote, we wrote it badly. Technical accuracy and plain English aren't in conflict — one just takes more effort.

5. We don't take on work we can't do well.
If your situation needs a specialism we don't have, we'll say so and point you somewhere better. Saying yes to everything is how firms end up doing nothing properly.

None of this is complicated. It's just a set of decisions, made once, and stuck to.

If it sounds like what you've been looking for, DM us HELLO.

15/09/2026

Self Assessment registration closes 5 October 2026. Most first-time filers think the only tax return deadline is 31 January — and the gap between those two dates is where people get caught.

Registering is not filing. It's a separate step, with its own earlier deadline, and it takes longer than almost anyone expects:

1. You register with HMRC — 5 October 2026
2. HMRC posts your Unique Taxpayer Reference — 10 working days officially, often 2–4 weeks in practice
3. A separate activation code follows — up to 10 more working days, and it expires after 28
4. Only then can you file — 31 January 2027

Realistically, allow three to four weeks between registering and being able to submit anything.

Register if, during the 2025/26 tax year, you:

· Went self-employed or started a sole trader business
· Earned more than £1,000 from a side hustle — Vinted, eBay, Etsy, freelancing, content
· Started renting out a property
· Had untaxed income you've not declared before

What actually happens if you miss 5 October: the penalty for late registration is based on the tax you owe. Owe nothing and it's usually nothing. But if the delay means you can't file by 31 January, that's an automatic £100 — and that one applies whether you owe tax or not. The registration deadline matters because of what it sets in motion, not because of an instant fine.

More than 640,000 people registered for Self Assessment in the 12 months to March 2026. HMRC launched an improved online registration service on 9 September, so the form itself is quicker than it was. The postal wait is the part that hasn't changed.

One more: if you're already registered but don't need to file this year, tell HMRC. Otherwise a return is expected and a penalty follows when it doesn't arrive.

DM us OCTOBER and we'll check where you stand.

General information, not advice.

12/09/2026

The optimum director salary for 2026/27 depends on one thing most guides skip: whether your limited company can claim the Employment Allowance.

Sole directors with no other employee paid above £5,000 cannot claim it. That single fact changes the right salary from £12,570 to £6,708 — and if you're on the wrong number you're either overpaying employer National Insurance or leaving Corporation Tax relief unclaimed.

Here's the structure, layer by layer.

Layer 0 — Company profit. Say £60,000 before any director pay. All of it taxable.

Layer 1 — Salary. Sole director, no Employment Allowance: £6,708, the Lower Earnings Limit. Employer NI is about £256 and it still earns a state pension qualifying year. With Employment Allowance available: £12,570, where the £10,500 allowance absorbs the £1,135.50 of employer NI.

Layer 2 — Corporation Tax relief. Salary is deductible against profit. On £12,570 that's £2,388 saved at 19%, £3,142 at 25%, £3,332 at the 26.5% marginal rate. The salary decision was never only about National Insurance.

Layer 3 — Dividend allowance. The first £500 of dividends is tax-free whatever band you're in. It costs nothing. Take it first.

Layer 4 — Dividends. Taxed at 10.75% in the basic rate band. No employer NI, no employee NI.

Layer 5 — The stop. Dividend tax rates rose two points on 6 April 2026. Above £50,270 of total income, dividends cost 35.75% instead of 10.75%. Plan to stay inside the band.

Three things shift the whole calculation: your Corporation Tax rate, Employment Allowance eligibility, and any other income — a PAYE job, rental income, a pension.

Most directors set this up once and never revisit it. Profits change. Rates just changed.

DM us PAY and we'll review yours.

General information, not advice. Figures illustrative — your position depends on your circumstances.

11/09/2026

Self Assessment mistakes are easier to fix before you file than after. These are the four we find in nearly every self-filed UK tax return we review.

Most people who file their own tax return do a decent job. But there are four problems that come up again and again — and none of them are obvious until someone points them out.

1. Expenses you can't actually claim.
HMRC's test is "wholly and exclusively" — not "mostly for work." Home broadband apportioned wrong. Personal phone included in full. These are what trigger compliance checks.

2. Income you didn't think to declare.
Bank interest above your Personal Savings Allowance. Vinted, eBay or Etsy sales over the £1,000 trading allowance. A cash job. HMRC receives data directly from online platforms now.

3. The payment on account trap.
If your tax bill tops £1,000 for the first time, HMRC adds two payments on account for the following year — each roughly half your current bill. People budget for £2,000 and get a £3,000 demand. It isn't an error.

4. Reliefs you're entitled to and missed.
Working from home relief. Professional subscriptions. Pension contributions. Gift Aid. The errors run both ways — overclaiming is a compliance risk, underclaiming just costs you money.

The good news: you can amend a filed return up to 12 months after the 31 January deadline. HMRC allows one correction window and it doesn't reopen.

Correcting it yourself always beats HMRC finding it first.

DM us REVIEW and we'll look at your return before you submit it.

General information, not advice.

09/09/2026

01/09/2026

Miss 5 October and HMRC can fine you — even if your tax bill is £0.

Here's the distinction most online earners don't know:

31 January = when you file your tax return.
5 October = when you must tell HMRC you need to file one at all.

If 2025/26 was the first year your online income crossed £1,000 — brand deals, affiliate links, Vinted, eBay, Etsy, Depop, YouTube, Substack, anything — you need to register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2026.

Why October matters more than January:

After registering, HMRC posts your UTR. Takes about 10 working days. You cannot file without it. Miss October and you're chasing a reference number in January with the deadline on top of you.

The penalty is a "failure to notify" charge. HMRC applies it to the late registration itself — not just to unpaid tax. You can owe nothing and still be fined.

Two things to check right now:

→ Did your online income cross £1,000 in 2025/26? Gross — before expenses.
→ Are you registered? Filed last January = you are. First year earning online = you probably aren't.

Not sure? That's the conversation to have now — not on 30 October.

26/08/2026

The number is £1,000. The date is 5 October. Here's the test:

SELLING YOUR OWN USED STUFF?
☐ Old clothes, furniture, clearing the loft
☐ Not taxable at any amount — clearing out ≠ trading
✓ You're done. Nothing to report.

BUYING OR MAKING TO SELL?
☐ Flipping, reselling, handmade, bulk-buying
☐ That's trading — add up everything earned in 2025/26
☐ Under £1,000? Trading allowance covers you. Done.
☐ Over £1,000? Register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2026

TWO THINGS PEOPLE GET WRONG:

☐ £3,000 is NOT tax-free — it's a reporting threshold and doesn't start until 2027/28. Your line is £1,000.

☐ You can be fined even if your tax bill is £0. Missing 5 October is a "failure to notify" — HMRC penalizes the late registration itself.

ONCE YOU'VE REGISTERED:
☐ File your return by 31 January 2027
☐ Keep records of everything you sold and what you paid for it

Save this. Send it to the friend always flogging trainers.
General information, not advice. Book a review if your situation is borderline.

19/08/2026

5 tax deadlines between now and 31 October. Miss one and the penalty lands before you notice.
Here is every date that matters this autumn — save this calendar.

→ 22 August — electronic PAYE & NIC for the month to 5 August (postal: 19 August)
→ 30 September — Companies House accounts for 31 December 2025 year-ends
→ 1 October — Corporation Tax payment for 31 December 2025 year-ends
→ 5 October — register for Self Assessment if you are new to it for 2025/26
→ 31 October — paper Self Assessment deadline (online: 31 January 2027)

Two that catch people out:
The 30 September accounts deadline and the 1 October Corporation Tax payment fall two days apart for December year ends. Plan the cash for both together.

The 5 October registration deadline matters most if this is your first year. HMRC posts your UTR within about 10 working days and you cannot file without it.

General information, not advice. Book a review and we will map your exact dates.

Save this calendar. Follow for deadline steps every week