Relieve your burdens and rely on our Tax experts to guide you through the regulations and help you minimise your tax liabilities.

At Sterling, we offer you a range of services to help minimise your corporate tax exposure and relieve you of the administrative burden of complying with tax legislation. These include:

- Determining the most tax effective structure for your business
- Taking full advantage of tax opportunities and reliefs
- Achieving the optimum capital or revenue tax treatment
- Reducing tax on disposals and maximising relief on acquisitions
- Making the most of tax opportunities specific to your industry
- Meeting the rigorous demands of compliance including corporation tax self-assessment
- Acting on your behalf in discussions with the tax authorities

Efficient corporate tax planning can result in potentially significant improvements in your bottom line.

Navigating the evolving landscape of HMRC's Making Tax Digital (MTD) can present significant operational and compliance considerations for professionals. Our team of specialist tax and accounting experts provides strategic guidance and practical support to ensure a seamless transition and ongoing adherence to these new digital reporting requirements.

HMRC's ambition to become a digitally advanced tax authority is being realised through MTD, a fundamental shift in how financial data is reported by businesses, individuals, and landlords. While the overarching goal is to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy in tax administration by streamlining filings and minimising manual data entry errors, the implementation necessitates careful planning and robust digital infrastructure.

The MTD journey commenced with MTD for VAT in April 2019, and the next critical phases involve:

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (MTD for ITSA)

MTD for ITSA will be introduced in a phased manner starting in April 2026. This will require affected individuals and landlords to maintain digital records and submit quarterly summaries of their business income and expenses to HMRC via MTD-compatible software. This proactive approach will provide taxpayers with estimated tax calculations throughout the year, facilitating better financial planning. The current Self-Assessment tax return will be replaced by a year-end finalisation process within the MTD software, allowing for the inclusion of any non-business income.

The rollout schedule for MTD for ITSA is as follows:
- April 2026 – Phase 1: )- Individuals and landlords with a gross income exceeding £50,000.
- April 2027 – Phase 2: - Individuals and landlords with a gross income between £30,000 and £50,000.
- Date to be confirmed – Remaining Phases: Partnerships and individuals/landlords with a gross income below £30,000 will be integrated at a later date - to be announced.

Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax (MTD for CT)

While the initial timeline suggested a 2026 commencement for MTD for CT, HMRC has indicated a likely delay of several years as they prioritise the implementation of MTD for Income Tax. We continue to monitor developments and will provide timely updates as further information becomes available.

Our firm is strategically positioned to guide professionals through each stage of the MTD implementation. We offer tailored solutions, including:
- Comprehensive MTD readiness assessments: Evaluating your current systems and processes to identify areas requiring adaptation.
- April Guidance on selecting and implementing MTD-compatible software: Ensuring a smooth digital transition.
- April Training and support for digital record-keeping and reporting: Empowering you and your team to manage the new requirements efficiently.
- April Ongoing compliance advice and support: Providing proactive assistance to navigate quarterly and year-end submissions.

By partnering with our experienced team, you can confidently navigate the complexities of MTD, ensuring compliance while minimising disruption to their operations. Contact us today to discuss your specific needs and how we can support your transition to digital tax reporting.

More than ever before, responsibility is being placed on the individual to ensure they pay tax that is due to HMRC.

With tax regimes becoming more complicated and difficult for most individuals to decipher, it is important that you seek support and professional advice from experts who can optimise your tax position while ensuring you meet all the compliance requirements.

Every pound of income tax you save means more income at your disposal, every well-planned disposal of assets means minimal loss of capital gains, and every inheritance tax saving means more benefit for your beneficiaries.

We can help you with:

- Income tax
- Capital Gains tax
- Inheritance tax
- Trusts and estates
- Non-domiciliary tax issues

Make sure you take full advantage of the tax saving opportunities open to you.

A Self-Assessment tax return is a daunting task, even for those who are well prepared. Self-assessment tax returns must be submitted by the self-employed so they can pay income tax and National Insurance on their profits. However, there are also many other people who meet certain criteria, as set out by HMRC, who will also have to submit a personal tax return.

Many taxpayers struggle to understand the complex tax returns they receive and complete them correctly. Each year, thousands receive penalties for failing to submit their returns on time, and correctly!

With the constant stream of changes to tax legislation and responsibility falling squarely due on the individual, it means that returns are becoming even more difficult to understand and also an increased risk you may incur a penalty due to a late return or for careless completion where mistakes are included.

We can save time, worry, and money by handling your self-assessment for you. We will do all the necessary computations, complete your return, and even offer advice on how you can minimise your tax liability.

We can act as your agent, dealing directly with HMRC on your behalf and, should you be selected for a self-assessment enquiry, act for you at any meetings.

Value added tax is one of the most complex and onerous tax regimes imposed on business – so complex that many businesses overpay or underpay VAT in error. The ever-changing scope of VAT, the stream of detailed changes to regulations, and the growing demands of HMRC call for expert help to ensure you do not infringe regulations and do not over pay more than you need to!

With MTD requirements and VAT rules, UK VAT registered businesses with turnover above the VAT registration threshold must keep and maintain VAT records digitally in “a compatible software package that allows you to keep digital records and submit VAT Returns” or use “bridging software to connect non-compatible software (like spreadsheets) to HMRC systems.

We provide an efficient cost-effective VAT service, which includes:

- Assistance with VAT registration
- Advice on VAT planning and administration
- Use of the most appropriate scheme
- VAT control and reconciliation
- Help with completing VAT returns
- Planning to minimise future problems with HMRC
- Negotiating with HMRC in disputes and representing you at VAT tribunals