For many years, Shipleys has specialised in looking after the financial affairs of wealthy individuals.
As well as supporting our private clients directly, we often work with a team of advisers with different expertise (such as lawyers, financial planners and stockbrokers), so that our clients benefit from a co-ordinated and seamless approach.
Making self-assessment a smoother process for you
We offer a first-class, personal service covering every aspect of the self-assessment tax return completion and filing. This often involves liaising with third parties on your behalf to obtain the required information in a timely fashion. Wherever possible our aim is to reduce the burden of compliance for you.
Our tax specialists can guide you on the latest allowances and tax reliefs so you don’t pay more tax than you need to. For example, we can calculate the pension contributions you can make tax efficiently.
We have a successful track-record in reviewing our clients’ investment portfolios against stock market activity to take account of stock dividends, scrip issues, rights issues and takeovers. Our tax specialists keep track of the capital gains tax (CGT) costs and any capital losses to ensure that gains or losses can be easily worked out and the appropriate reliefs claimed.
With these calculations, we can provide you with a better overall picture and help you decide, from a tax perspective, whether to sell individual investment holdings and what to do with the portfolio as a whole.
We can also support you with inheritance tax (IHT) planning and handle the returns if you wish to give any assets away.
Specialist advice for tax-saving opportunities
As you would expect, we keep abreast of all changes to tax law and practice and are always alert to tax-saving opportunities. Our specialists will assist you in claiming any expenses allowed by HMRC to reduce your overall tax bill. Should you incur losses, we evaluate the possible tax-saving claims that could help you manage through potentially difficult periods.
Dealing with HMRC for you
Our use of specialist software enables us to accurately complete tax returns and calculate you overall tax position, thereby reducing the chance of an HMRC enquiry into your affairs. We produce our own tax liability calculations and statements that we reconcile with those issued by HMRC, so that you pay the correct liability.
We advise you of deadlines and how much tax to pay so that you avoid late filing penalties, interest and surcharges.
Should your return be selected for enquiry by HMRC, we will deal with the queries quickly and effectively to ensure you are not subjected to unnecessary worry.
Income and capital gains tax planning
Our tax compliance procedures ensure that income tax and capital gains tax (CGT) planning are considered on a regular basis, and we often undertake a more detailed review of private clients’ affairs at their request.
For example, a tax review might cover the efficiency of specific investments, including Enterprise Investment Schemes, Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes and Venture Capital Trusts, film and other investments.
For people coming to the UK, with appropriate planning before you arrive, we can help structure your affairs to be as tax-efficient as possible on your arrival. We can also continue to monitor your overseas income and capital gains position to make the most of the remittance basis of taxation. This will include advising you on the trigger points for the remittance basis charge, and with regard to appropriate structures overseas to ensure your UK tax exposure is minimised.
Estate planning and inheritance tax
Estate planning and inheritance tax (IHT) mitigation are important areas in managing family wealth. At the very least you should have a will and ensure it is up to date. Lasting Power of Attorneys are also very sensible to have put in place.
IHT planning is often overlooked by wealthy individuals and this can cause major problems for their loved ones and other beneficiaries later in life. Our knowledge, built up through dealing with clients’ annual tax reporting, means that we are well-placed to advise on the potential impact of IHT and can help you take advantage of established exemptions such as:
- annual exemptions,
- ordinary expenditure out of income,
- business property relief and
- agricultural property relief.
Our private client advice also covers wills, the use of trusts and other planning arrangements. We can work with your legal advisers to ensure the intended arrangements are implemented properly and as you would wish. We can also arrange suitable introductions for legal advice if required.
Trusts can provide a mechanism for the transfer of family wealth and business assets down the generations, with in-built safeguards to ensure assets pass to the intended person at a suitable time.
Our trusts and estates experts advise on setting up such arrangements. They also provide administration and accounting support to ensure the established trust remains appropriate, runs efficiently, complies with the latest legislation, and is cost-effective. Where possible, we tailor estate planning to mitigate IHT.
Financial planning
At Shipleys, we have excellent working relationships with numerous financial planners. We can introduce clients who need specialist advice in areas such as savings and investment (including school fees planning), pensions and annuities, IHT plans, mortgages, mortgage protection and insurance.
International tax planning
Through our membership of AGN International, a worldwide association of separate and independent accounting and advisory businesses, we can arrange specialist tax advice anywhere in the world. This is most common for clients with multiple homes and investments abroad.
Can we help?
Our popular approach builds close, long-term relationships based on an in-depth understanding of our clients’ requirements. We can also work with your other advisers, such as lawyers, stockbrokers or financial planners so you receive seamless, considered and beneficial advice. We can introduce other experts to the team when a particular piece of specialist advice is needed.
Some clients take advantage of our ‘family office’ service and ask us to lead and co-ordinate their professional adviser team, as well as direct and manage their financial affairs.
Our team of specialists for Private Clients comprises experts with backgrounds in private practice, HMRC and financial services companies. All our staff are highly experienced and take pride in providing a bespoke personal service. They are also members of the leading tax and accounting professional bodies.
In 2022 we were delighted to be featured by eprivateclient in their 2022 ranking of the best UK Accountancy firms supporting national and international private clients. It recognises quality of service, reputation, size and performance over the past 12 months.
To find out more about how we can support you, please contact one of our specialist team shown on this page.
Specific advice should be obtained before taking action, or refraining from taking action, on any of the subjects covered above.
Related Resources
Understanding the tax implications of divorce
Pension contributions – the tax benefits
