JVCA the friendly accountants

JVCA the friendly accountants Chartered accountants, Tax specialists & Business advisers ... More like bean roasters than bean cou We really are tax specialists…experts in saving you money.

We are a firm of Chartered Accountants offering a variety of accountancy and consultancy services to a wide range of businesses. Because every £ we save in tax is more money for you to spend on your business or your family! Okay so we do all the usual stuff of accounts, tax returns, payrolls, company formation, etc, and do it very well…but we do more! Becoming the trusted advisor that helps your b

usiness thrive! We can give you help, advice and suggestions that work! Some accountants just deal in the past - we aim to help you look forward and have a better future. ...and we do this with a range of businesses from owner managed and family run businesses to subsidiaries of large companies…We also have a great reputation for working with high net-worth individuals. Interested? Want to find out more? Ring or email and book a free initial consultation to check us out and find out more.

Setting up a trust to protect your estate sounds sensible. But what if we told you it can trigger a 20% tax charge befor...
03/06/2026

Setting up a trust to protect your estate sounds sensible. But what if we told you it can trigger a 20% tax charge before a single penny has moved anywhere.

There's an alternative that not enough people know about: the Family Investment Company, or FIC.

A FIC is a private limited company structured in a specific way. You hold the voting shares, so control stays with you. Children or grandchildren hold the growth shares, meaning future value passes to them over time.

Gift the shares, survive seven years, and that value sits outside your estate with no upfront IHT charge. A discretionary trust hits you with 20% above the nil rate band from day one.

Investment returns inside the company are taxed at corporation tax rates (currently 25%) rather than up to 45% personally. Over a long period, that difference adds up.

It doesn't work for everyone. If you need regular income out of the structure, or you're holding residential property that family members live in, a FIC probably isn't for you.

But if you're building something to pass on, it's worth understanding what's available.

Jonathan recently talked about how FICs work at a presentation at Cranfield University. You can read the full article here:

https://www.jvca.co.uk/family-investment-companies-what-you-need-to-know/

If you'd like to talk about whether a FIC could work for your situation, we’d be happy to help:

[email protected]

Inheritance tax planning is one of those topics that doesn't come up often enough.Some people have thought it through ca...
02/06/2026

Inheritance tax planning is one of those topics that doesn't come up often enough.

Some people have thought it through carefully and have a plan in place.

Others know it's on the radar but haven't got round to it yet. And plenty of people aren't sure whether it even applies to them.

IHT catches out more estates than people expect, particularly with property values where they are and thresholds frozen until 2030.

The challenge with IHT is that the options available to you lessen the longer you leave it. Structures that could protect significant wealth take time to work, in some cases, up to 7 years.

So if you've been meaning to look into it, now is a good time to start.
Where does IHT sit on your priority list? Let us know in the comments.

If you'd like to understand your position better, just drop us an email at [email protected]

Are you finding out about tax changes after they've already taken effect?⁠⁠When you’re running a business, it’s hard to ...
27/05/2026

Are you finding out about tax changes after they've already taken effect?⁠
⁠
When you’re running a business, it’s hard to keep up with HMRC updates.⁠
⁠
Our newsletter makes it easy. Once a month, we’ll send you:⁠
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- Tax changes affecting small businesses ⁠
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- HMRC updates worth knowing about⁠
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- Practical ways to improve your tax efficiency⁠
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- Simple tips to save money in your business⁠
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There’s no catch, just genuinely useful tips that every business owner should know.⁠
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You can subscribe using the form on our homepage: www.jvca.co.uk⁠
⁠

Most business owners have a number in their head - the amount they'd like to walk away with one day.What fewer of them h...
27/05/2026

Most business owners have a number in their head - the amount they'd like to walk away with one day.

What fewer of them have is a clear idea of what that number is supposed to do.

A holiday, paying off the mortgage, treating the family… Those things are nice, but are they really what 20 or 30 years of work was building towards?

The earlier you start planning, the more options you have. Here are a few things worth thinking about now:

- Get clear on what you actually want

- Understand your options

- Think about timing

- Know what your business looks like without you

If any of this is starting to resonate with you, it's worth a conversation sooner rather than later.

Feel free to get in touch.

[email protected]

Your business might be worth less than you expect.It doesn’t matter whether it’s profitable or whether you work hard. If...
26/05/2026

Your business might be worth less than you expect.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s profitable or whether you work hard. If it would struggle to keep going without you, a buyer will factor that in.

It's something that catches a lot of business owners out, particularly in tech, professional services, and other niche sectors where the founder essentially is the business. And the relationships, reputation, and expertise all sit with you.

The things that make a business genuinely attractive to a buyer take time to build:

- Recurring revenue
- A team that runs itself
- Clean accounts
- Low dependency on the owner

None of which gets put in place a few months before a sale.

Exit planning is something you start years before you're ready to leave.
We've put together an article covering the main options available to business owners, what to consider and when, and some of the tax structures that are easy to miss if no one's pointed them out.

https://www.jvca.co.uk/exit-planning-explained/

If you'd prefer to have a conversation first, drop us an email.

[email protected]

How are you getting on with Making Tax Digital?We're almost 2 months in now. Some people have their software set up and ...
21/05/2026

How are you getting on with Making Tax Digital?

We're almost 2 months in now. Some people have their software set up and are getting on with it, others are still finding their feet, and a few are still not entirely sure whether it applies to them yet.

All of that is fine, it's still early days.

Whatever stage you're at, we're happy to help:

Not sure if MTD applies to you - we can check and give you a straight answer

Still need to get set up - we can walk you through it and get you on the right software

Want to hand it over completely - we can take it off your plate

Get in touch if you need any help.

[email protected]

Thinking about incorporating your property portfolio? Before you do, it’s useful to know what it actually costs.Here are...
20/05/2026

Thinking about incorporating your property portfolio? Before you do, it’s useful to know what it actually costs.

Here are 4 things that often get overlooked:

- Stamp Duty Land Tax - without incorporation relief, a portfolio worth £1.25m could mean a significant SDLT bill from day one.

- Capital Gains Tax - again, you're technically disposing of the properties. If they've grown in value, HMRC will take an interest.

- Higher mortgage rates - business mortgages cost more than residential ones, and switching mid-fix can bring early repayment charges with it.

- Ongoing running costs - a limited company means annual accounts, corporation tax returns, and a bit more admin each year. Not complicated, but not free.

For some landlords, incorporating still makes sense (more about this in our blog - link in bio).

But the 2% increase alone, which works out at roughly £379-£630 a year on a five-property portfolio, probably isn't enough to justify the upfront costs on its own.

Landlords have had a lot to deal with recently. Mortgage interest relief changes, MTD quarterly reporting, the furnished holiday let scheme being scrapped. This is one more thing to weigh up carefully.

If you'd like to talk through whether incorporating makes sense for your situation, get in touch.

[email protected]

If you're a landlord, you've probably seen something about the 2% tax increase coming in April 2027…and wondered whether...
19/05/2026

If you're a landlord, you've probably seen something about the 2% tax increase coming in April 2027

…and wondered whether putting your properties into a limited company is the answer.

On the surface, it looks straightforward. Limited companies aren't affected by the change. Individual landlords are. So incorporating seems like the obvious move.

The problem is the upfront costs that don't make the headlines.

On a typical five-property portfolio, the extra 2% adds somewhere between £379 and £630 to your annual tax bill.

That's not nothing - but it's also not the number that should be driving the decision.

Transferring properties into a company can trigger Stamp Duty, a Capital Gains Tax charge, higher mortgage rates, and early repayment penalties on existing deals.

There are circumstances where incorporating does make sense - larger portfolios, significant mortgage debt relative to property value, landlords planning to draw income in retirement. But for most people with fewer than five properties, the numbers often don't stack up.

We've written an article that goes through it properly, so you can make an informed decision rather than a reactive one.

https://www.jvca.co.uk/should-landlords-incorporate-to-avoid-the-extra-2-percent-tax/

Something interesting happens when we ask business owners what their end goal actually is.Most have a vague idea, but th...
14/05/2026

Something interesting happens when we ask business owners what their end goal actually is.

Most have a vague idea, but they find the tricky bit is putting it into words.

There's often a feeling that a business vision needs to sound impressive, or clever. In our experience, the best ones are just clear, honest, and genuinely useful. That's exactly what makes them work.

When we talk about this with clients, we usually come back to three simple things:

1. Get clear on what you actually want, not just what sounds good

2. Make it specific enough to be useful without being too narrow

3. Say it out loud… if it feels natural, you're on the right track; if it feels a bit awkward, it probably needs another look

Once you're happy with it, share it. Put it somewhere your team can see it and add it to your website.

If you could comfortably share it with a new team member or a potential client on day one, you’re onto a winner.

We've helped plenty of business owners take a vague idea of where they're heading and turn it into something actionable.

If that's something you'd find useful, we'd be more than happy to help.

[email protected]

There's a reason it's often easier to spot what's not working in someone else's business than your own.Most business own...
13/05/2026

There's a reason it's often easier to spot what's not working in someone else's business than your own.

Most business owners we work with have come across their own blind spots at some point. But more often than not, it's completely fixable.

If you run a business in the tech, professional or niche boutique industry, here’s a few questions to think about:

1. When did you last review your pricing - properly?

2. Are there processes in your business that exist just because they always have?

3. Do you really understand your financial reports, or do you glance and move on?

4. Is there one client your business couldn't afford to lose?

If any of those gave you pause, you're in good company.

It’s not a reflection of how capable you are, it’s just the sort of things that are missed when you’re busy running a business.

A fresh pair of eyes can make a difference and help you see the things familiarity has made invisible.

That’s what we’re here for. Get in touch via [email protected], we’re always happy to help.

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Cranfield
MK430DG

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