What your accountant should tell you before your year end
The most useful conversation in the accounting year happens before the books close — not nine months after.
There is a version of accountancy where you hand over a folder in April, hear nothing for six months, and then receive a set of accounts and a tax bill you can do nothing about. It is accurate work. It is also close to useless for running a business.
The decisions that change your tax position have to be made before your accounting period ends. Once the year is closed, the numbers are the numbers.
Three questions worth asking in month eleven
What is the profit likely to be? A rough figure is enough. It tells you whether you are having the good year or the flat one, and everything else follows from that.
What will the corporation tax bill be, and when is it due? Nine months and a day after your year end. Knowing the figure in advance is the difference between a planned payment and a scramble.
Is there anything worth doing before the period closes? Employer pension contributions, capital purchases that qualify for full expensing, the balance between salary and dividends, whether a director's loan needs clearing before it triggers a section 455 charge. None of these can be done retrospectively.
The point
You do not need a tax scheme. You need a fifteen-minute conversation at the right time of year with someone who has already looked at your figures. That is a low bar, and it is worth checking your current arrangement clears it.
This article is general information, not advice for your particular circumstances. Tax rules change and the right answer depends on your situation — please speak to us before acting on anything here.