David Seaton

Qualified small businesses with domestic R&D activities now have a rare, time-sensitive opportunity to unlock significant tax benefits. A recent change allows you to: ✅ Amend your 2022, 2023, and 2024 tax returns ✅ Fully expense all eligible domestic R&D costs ✅ Generate immediate cash flow This provision applies to R&D work already completed such as product development, software creation, process improvements, and other activities meeting the IRS definition of qualified research under Section 174. The critical detail: There is only a one-year window from the date this law was enacted to take advantage of this opportunity. Once that period ends, the ability to claim these retroactive benefits is gone. For eligible companies, this can mean freeing up capital to reinvest in operations, innovation, or growth without raising external funding. However, proper documentation and a clear understanding of qualification criteria are essential to maximize benefits and remain compliant. Businesses should act quickly to assess eligibility, gather records, and file amended returns with the guidance of a tax professional experienced in R&D expensing. #RDTaxCredit #TaxStrategy #SmallBusiness #StartupFunding #Innovation #BusinessGrowth #TaxPlanning #RDExpensing #AccountingIndustry

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Your Tax Return Says One Thing. Your Instagram Says Another. Guess Who Notices? Your accounts show £14,000 of profit. Your Instagram shows a £75k Audi, a week in Dubai, and dinner at The Ivy. Spot the problem? So does HMRC. HMRC now uses AI to cross-check lifestyle against declared income. Social media, online ads, even tagged photos - it’s all data. If the maths doesn’t add up, the algorithm flags it. Sometimes it’s innocent - the Rolex was borrowed, the car was leased, the trip was business. But AI doesn’t care about context. It just kicks off an enquiry. So what should you do? • Make sure your declared income matches reality • Remember: social media is public and permanent • Be ready to explain if the lifestyle looks bigger than the numbers Tax isn’t just about receipts anymore. It’s about the story your digital footprint tells. ⸻ If you’d like a free copy of my full 89 Tax Tips guide, just send me a PM and I’ll get it over to you. #TaxTips #HMRC #DigitalTax

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MTD IT IS COMING 😱 Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) is the biggest change to the UK tax system in decades 🤒 From April 2026, sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000 must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC using compliant software ✅ (PS Dext have one of those compliant softwares called Dext Solo 😂 ) As an accountant or bookkeeper, MTD IT is going to change how you price services, engage clients and manage workflows, its a lot! 🤯 But MTD IT is also about opportunities, not just obligations 🫡 The MTD Oracle (AKA Paul L.) has produced a top tier guide for free for you to use to get your head around whats to come 🤩 Interested? Link in comments! 🥳 PS Nick Charnley my good pal also works in tax and is my pal in the picture 🥸 #mtd #mtdit #hmrc

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🚨 A Costly Oversight: Why Even Dormant Companies Need a Tax Health Check 🚨 A few months ago, we met a client who had registered a company with ambitious future plans—but for now, it was dormant. Thinking inactivity meant no action was needed, they didn’t file monthly VAT and PAYE returns, nor the annual final return. No income, no tax—right? Wrong. Despite being dormant, the law requires timely tax filings once a company is registered. By the time they came to us, their startup was facing accumulated penalties and interest that far exceeded their initial capital investment. This situation could have been completely avoided with a simple annual Tax Health Check and timely professional advice. 💡 Here’s the takeaway: Whether your business is active, scaling, or just starting—compliance starts from day one. Understanding your obligations early prevents unnecessary stress and costs later. At RSM Tanzania, we support mid-market clients across Tanzania with proactive, practical tax advice to keep you compliant and confident. 🔎 When was the last time your company had a tax health check? Let’s talk. #TaxCompliance #RSM #MidMarketMatters #Tanzania #TaxHealthCheck #BusinessAdvisory #DormantCompany #Entrepreneurship

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝗼 𝗜𝗳 𝗛𝗠𝗥𝗖 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗡𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗱?📩 Received a brown envelope from HMRC that feels more like a warning than a reminder? That’s called a nudge letter, and if you're a landlord, you need to take it seriously. These letters are part of HMRC’s data-matching efforts to catch undeclared rental income, especially from platforms like Airbnb, Rightmove, letting agents, and even council tax records. But don’t panic. Here’s what to know, and what to do. → 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗔 𝗡𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿? A nudge letter isn’t a formal investigation. It’s a soft warning that HMRC believes you might have under-declared income, often based on third-party data. It may say something like: "We believe you may have received rental income that hasn’t been included in your Self Assessment tax return..." → 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗔 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹? Even if you’ve declared everything correctly, ignoring a nudge letter can escalate into a compliance check or a formal tax investigation - with interest and penalties of up to 100% of the unpaid tax. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝗼 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲: ↳ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗺: These letters are sent in bulk, they don’t always mean you're in the wrong. ↳ 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀: Review your past Self Assessments, rental income, expenses, and bank accounts to make sure everything adds up. ↳ 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆: You may be able to disclose through the Let Property Campaign, which typically results in lower penalties than if HMRC finds the error first. ↳ 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: A property-focused tax advisor can help you respond clearly and avoid triggering an investigation. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆? If you’ve made a mistake, fix it. If you’re confident your numbers are right, document everything and respond carefully. ♻️ Repost this if you know someone who recently received a nudge letter. 📅 Received a nudge letter and not sure what to do? DM me & book a free call and let’s review it together. 💻 And If you want to avoid tax surprises under MTD, join my live webinar on 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟰𝘁𝗵 how to prepare properly!  Save your spot here 👉 bit.ly/MTD-For-Income-Tax 👤 Follow me, Usman Butt, for tax strategies landlords can actually use. Video Credits: All rights are reserved to the rightful owner. Please DM for credits or removal.

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In my interview on The Big Small Business Show, I speak about the practical aspects of having a fractional CFO in your business. In particular, how a fractional CFO is positioned in an SME business and what the key focuses of the CFO would be in the business. You can watch the clip here: https://lnkd.in/eetV24qU #fractional #strategic #finance

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What would you do if you only had £23,000 in the bank and you need to sort payroll? A client payment you were relying on is now late? 😱 This is how cashflow spirals start. Not with huge losses, but with timing and guesswork. Chances are, if you’re a good business owner, you’d never let it get to that point, but here’s how you can stay far removed from it. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to build a simple 4-week rolling cashflow. No complex formulas just visibility. 👀 Watch this space.

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