Dennis Chen- DC Accountants

Dennis Chen- DC Accountants I help Service based owners to take home more money

04/09/2026

Giving to charity doesn’t always mean paying the full amount personally.

If your company donates £2,000 to a qualifying charity, that donation can be deductible when calculating your company’s taxable profits, subject to the rules.

So the company may get corporation tax relief on the £2,000 donation. The exact saving depends on the company’s corporation tax position.

The important distinction is how the donation is made.

A personal donation is made from your own income after considering your personal tax position. A company donation is made by the company and can be treated differently for corporation tax purposes.

For example, if your company donates £2,000, the charity receives the full £2,000, while the company’s tax position may be reduced as a result.

So if you’re planning to give to charity anyway, don’t automatically assume paying personally is the only option.

Check whether making the donation through your company is appropriate for your circumstances before you do it.

Same charity. Same £2,000 donation. But potentially a different tax outcome depending on which door you use.

Every situation is different, so speak to your accountant about your own position.

02/09/2026

Alphabet shares can change how dividends are split between directors.

Most directors assume that if two people own a company together, dividends have to be split equally. If the shares are held in the same class, that's generally how it works.

But that doesn't mean equal dividends are always the most tax-efficient approach.

With different share classes, often called alphabet shares, each shareholder can have more flexibility over how dividends are allocated, subject to the company's articles, share rights and the rules around dividends.

For example, if the company wants to distribute £50,000, you don't necessarily have to pay £25,000 each. Depending on the share structure and each person's tax position, you could potentially pay £40,000 to one shareholder and £10,000 to the other.

Why does that matter?

If one person has unused tax bands or allowances while the other is already paying tax at a higher rate, splitting the dividend differently can produce a different overall tax position.

The important part is planning this before the dividends are declared and making sure the share structure genuinely supports the distribution. You cannot simply decide after the fact who gets what.

Same company. Same £50,000 dividend. Different allocation - potentially a very different personal tax bill.

Before taking your next dividend, check whether your current share structure actually gives you the flexibility you need.

Every situation is different, so speak to your accountant about your own position.

31/08/2026

Your January tax bill should not be a surprise.

For most directors, the problem starts months earlier. The year ends, the accounts get prepared, and only then do they discover how much personal tax they owe.

By January, there is very little you can change. The tax position has already been created - you're simply finding out the number and paying it.

The better approach is to know the number early.

If your company is profitable, you can estimate your personal tax position before the year ends. That gives you time to look at your dividend position and see whether additional dividends would push you further into the higher rate band.

Timing matters because once the year has closed and the dividends have already been taken, your options become much more limited.

For example, if your projected tax bill is £10,000, knowing that figure before year-end gives you time to plan for it. Finding out in January gives you a payment deadline, not a planning opportunity.

This is why tax planning isn't about trying to avoid tax. It's about knowing what is coming while you still have time to make informed decisions.

Comment CALC and I'll send you the free calculator so you can start knowing your number before January.

Every situation is different, so speak to your accountant about your own position.

28/08/2026

POV: You remember your tax return exists when the deadline is basically tomorrow. 😂

Suddenly it’s:

Accountant calling 📞
Checking the numbers
Finding missing information
Filing the return
Working out how much you owe
Moving money around
Calling HMRC about a payment plan
And finally… paying the tax 😭

All in the space of a few days.

This is exactly why tax planning should happen before the deadline, not at it.

A little planning earlier in the year can save a lot of stress later.

Follow for more simple tax and business finance tips.

27/08/2026

Your accounting software can either save you time or create more work.

A lot of business owners choose software based on price or what their accountant uses. That misses the bigger question: how easy is it to actually run your business from it?

Spreadsheets sit at the bottom for a reason. They can work for simple records, but there is no proper bank reconciliation automation, so keeping everything accurate becomes a manual job.

Sage Business Cloud and Zoho Books both cover the basics, but reporting and usability can become frustrating when you need more from the software.

FreeAgent and QuickBooks Online move things up a tier. Both have useful bank feeds and reporting, although FreeAgent's reporting is more limited and QuickBooks can take some time to navigate.

Then there's Xero.

The biggest advantage isn't just the features. It's usability. If a business owner can understand the system quickly, they're far more likely to keep the books up to date properly.

And that's the point most people miss.

The "best" accounting software isn't necessarily the one with the most features. It's the one that gives you the information you need without making you fight the software to get it.

Before switching platforms, look at your bank feeds, reporting, integrations, payroll requirements and how much support you'll actually get.

The right software should make running your accounts easier - not become another job.

26/08/2026

That client lunch gets zero corporation tax relief.

Most directors assume that if an expense is genuinely business-related, the company can deduct it. Client entertaining is the exception.

HMRC treats client entertainment as a disallowable expense. You can record the £200 dinner in your accounts, but when your taxable profit is calculated, that £200 is added back. It does not reduce the company's corporation tax bill.

The VAT is blocked too. You cannot reclaim the input VAT on business entertainment provided to clients.

So a £200 client dinner is a £200 cost to the company - not a £150 cost after tax relief.

Staff entertaining works differently. A Christmas party or team meal can qualify for the £150 per head annual function exemption, provided the conditions are met.

And yes, you should still pay genuine client entertaining through the company rather than automatically paying personally. The expense is still a legitimate company cost; it simply does not reduce your taxable profit.

The important distinction is between an expense being a genuine business cost and an expense being tax deductible. Those are not always the same thing.

Every situation is different, so speak to your accountant about your own position.

24/08/2026

Got cash sitting in your business account?

Don’t let it sit there doing nothing.

Move it into a high-interest business savings account or, where appropriate, a business investment account — while keeping the money inside the company.

Your cash stays yours, but now it’s working harder.

Follow for more director tax tips.

21/08/2026

Could paying your partner through your business save you thousands in corporation tax?

If they genuinely work in the business, putting them on the payroll and paying them for their work could make their salary an allowable business expense.

In the right circumstances, that could mean up to £2,400 less corporation tax.

It may also apply to other family members who genuinely work in the business.

Follow for more tax tips your accountant might not have told you.

That laptop in your spare room could put money back in your pocket. 💻 If you’ve personally bought equipment that you now...
20/08/2026

That laptop in your spare room could put money back in your pocket. 💻

If you’ve personally bought equipment that you now use for your business, you may be able to transfer it to your company at its current market value and have the company pay you for it.

The company can then record it as a business asset and claim the relevant tax relief.

Laptop, phone, camera gear, home office equipment—you may already have assets sitting around that could be working harder for your business.

💬 Comment ASSET and I’ll send you the full breakdown.

19/08/2026

PROFIT ≠ MONEY
Your accounts say £40,000 profit. Your bank says £900. Both can be right.
Here's why that happens.
Most limited company accounts are prepared on the accruals basis. That means income is recorded when you raise the invoice, not when the money lands. So a £10,000 invoice sitting unpaid for 60 days is already profit in your accounts - and still nothing in your bank.
Then there's everything that moves cash but never touches your profit figure:
Dividends. Paid out of post-tax profit, so they reduce your cash but don't reduce the profit your corporation tax is calculated on.
Corporation tax itself. It builds up all year and gets paid 9 months and 1 day after your year end. It's accruing right now whether you've set money aside or not.
VAT. If you're registered, a chunk of what's in your account was never yours.
Equipment. Spend £8,000 on kit and the cash goes immediately - but only part of the cost hits your profit and loss each year.
Loan repayments. The interest is a cost. The capital repayment isn't - it's pure cash out.
Stack those up and you get the situation almost every director I speak to has been in at least once. A profitable year on paper and a genuinely uncomfortable month in the bank.
Profit tells you whether the business model is working.
Cash tells you whether the business survives long enough for that to matter.
You need to be watching both, monthly - not finding out at year end.
Every business is different, so speak to your accountant about your own position.

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