All businesses that register for VAT on or after 1 April 2010 must file electronic returns and will not have the option of paper returns.

In addition, a business that is already VAT registered and has a turnover of £100,000 or more must file electronically after this date.

If VAT returns are filed electronically, then any VAT due must also be paid electronically.

So, what do you need to do?

• Talk to your accountant if they will be submitting your VAT return online on your behalf and discuss what you both need to do, to ensure you meet the deadline for your first online return.
• Register and enrol for the VAT online service.
• Consider whether you need to change any of your business processes for checking and signing off your VAT return.
• Identify your preferred form of electronic payment (e.g. direct debit, internet banking etc.) and set up the necessary arrangements.
• If your business has to pay your VAT by cheque, make sure you order from HMRC the necessary Bank Giro paying-in slips.

For more information, see the HMRC website or speak to your usual contact at K&H or contact Susan Kemish.

…which gives me a good link into the green issues we feature this month:

• Energy audits for buildings
• Interest-free loans for energy-saving projects

…as well as:

• Tory plans for Corporation Tax
• A tax guide to renting out property
• Andrew Gray’s thoughts on bullshit (a word not generally used by accountants!)

Enjoy the read.

There are currently more than 60 tax-planning tips and ideas available, all in bite-size chunks of only 140 characters or less!

For up-to-date quick tax tips, sign up to my Twitter account by clicking here.

I’d been keen to do a survey of what runners think about while they are training. I find there is something about running that leaves the mind free to wander but unable to focus clearly on anything specific for any length of time. When I swim or cycle, I am not as aware of this suspended state of mind.

One of the thoughts I had last night while running was that, some time ago, I read that more accountants run in marathons than any other profession. I wonder why that is? Maybe the sedentary nature of our work means that any excuse to get active is welcome? Or perhaps the competitive streak that it takes to get through all those gruelling exams spills over into how we live the rest of our lives. I’d hate to think that the pure motive of running for fitness etc. is tainted by it being just another symptom of the rat-racer mentality that so many of use suffer from….

The other pure motive is generating money for ‘charidee’, of course. I have always been puzzled why people don’t ask to be sponsored to do activities that have some inherent value (e.g. cleaning public areas) rather than doing something that they do as a hobby anyway. I am sure people would give much more generously for that.

And I am not pushing for donations, because anyone who is a client of K&H is indirectly contributing to good causes as we pay 10% of our profits to a good cause each year. Last year it was Naomi House Children’s Hospice, and this year it is Theale Age Concern Tea Club. This is a local Theale-based group, which is completely self-funding and run by volunteers. Members meet weekly, some in their 80s or 90s, for tea and a game of bingo and a quiz. They occasionally have a guest speaker or go on an outing. For some, the Tea Club is the only chance they have to go out and socialise.

Let me know your thoughts on what goes through your mind when exercising, and what motivates you to do it in the first place.

Alan King, Director of Syntegra Consulting

Not everyone knows this, but buildings produce nearly half of the UK’s carbon emissions - almost twice that of cars and planes. The EU knows about high carbon emissions from buildings, hence the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in 2002.

The UK too is ramping up its energy efficiency targets and legislation for buildings. Since 2009, it has been compulsory for all properties rented out or sold to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

This new EPC market in the UK is currently estimated to be worth £500 million a year, and is set to increase. And the energy assessment market will continue to grow with it.

Syntegra Consulting Ltd was formed in direct response to the EPBD and to the increasing green legislation for the UK built environment. In 2009, we carried out more than 1,500 energy assessments for our property homeowner clients alone. In total, we made recommendations for savings of more than £161,000 a year on energy bills, and for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,062 tonnes a year.

So, energy audits have become the MOT for buildings. The UK Green Building Council (of which Syntegra is a member) has started discussions about further legislation to encourage reduced carbon emissions from small businesses, and for all commercial buildings. It won’t be long before all buildings will have to have a Display Energy Certificate that specifically shows their running costs in terms of energy efficiency.

What we at Syntegra Consulting offer is energy audits. Small business clients of K&H in the south-east of England can benefit from our free energy grant assistance, and, for larger clients, we can offer a free LED lighting feasibility study alongside a building energy assessment.

If you would like to learn more, then please email me or visit the Syntegra Consulting website.

It covers the taxation of the following types of rental property:

• Renting a furnished house
• Renting an unfurnished house
• Renting rooms in the house you live in
• Renting a furnished holiday property

Download the guide here.

If you would like professional advice on your own circumstances, then please email me.

L-R: Andrew Neale, Chris Maffey, Frances Sandelands and Stacey Delve

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is one of the main bodies for professional accountants. Their focus is on professional values, ethics, and governance. As an ACCA training office, Kirkpatrick & Hopes naturally has to adhere to those values and we are visited periodically to ensure that we are doing all the right things.

We recently had such a visit and I am pleased to say that our status as an ACCA training office has been renewed and we can continue to support our ACCA trainees and those qualified ACCA members who want to work towards their practising certificate.

And as if to reaffirm this, we have been delighted with the success of four of our team members who have passed their recent exams:

Andrew Neale ( P1 - Professional Accountant & P2 - Corporate Reporting)
Chris Maffey (F5- Performance Management)
Frances Sandelands (P1 - professional accountant)
Stacey Delve (F5- Performance Management)

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, proposed Corporation Tax cuts in his interview on 28 February with the BBC’s Andrew Marr.

Mr Osborne promised a cut in small companies’ Corporation Tax rate to 20% (currently 21%) together with a reduction in the top rate of Corporation Tax to 25% (currently 28%).

The Conservatives would hold an emergency budget in June to implement these proposals - assuming, of course, they come to power. Mr Osborne went on to say that these reductions would be paid for by the “abolition of some complex reliefs”.  He wants to “simplify tax” and allow businesses more choice. This indicates the abolition of the valuable Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) for companies.

This allowance enables businesses to purchase capital equipment of up to £50,000 in any accounting year and claim the full amount as a deduction when calculating the amount of profit that is taxable. The allowance covers the purchase of items such as machinery, commercial vehicles, computer equipment, office equipment and furniture.

The advice is to bring forward any proposed capital purchases to before the general election to maximise the tax relief available.

If I can help in any way, please contact me.

If anything, we could be accused of going too far the other way: out of a team of 19, there are only 4 men. Having said that, looking at the following interactive checklist there are still areas that make me wonder how equal we really are.

If 4/5 of our team are women, then surely 4/5 of the board should be too? But actually there are two men on our board of five. Obviously, there are lots of reasons why that might be the case, but interesting to consider nonetheless. It’s important to ensure that your working practices are equal for both men and women, to comply with legislation if nothing else. The following interactive tool can help you achieve gender equality in the workplace by identifying where practices could be altered.  Use the tool now at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/genderequality

It would be great to hear if you find anything unexpected from it. Contact me on 0118 923 5817.

• Introduction of important changes to medical statements
  From 6 April 2010, the format of medical statements - also known as sick notes - will change

• Introduction of monetary penalties for data protection breaches
  From 6 April 2010, serious data protection contraventions may result in a penalty of up to £500,000

• New eco-design standards for certain high-intensity lamps
  From 13 April 2010, new performance and efficacy requirements apply to office and street-lighting lamps

• New right for employees to request time to train
  From 6 April 2010, employees of larger employers will have the right to ask for time to do job-related training

• Increase in landfill tax
  From 1 April 2010, the standard rate of landfill tax will rise to £48 per tonne

• New eco-design standards for certain high-intensity lamps
  From 13 April 2010, new performance and efficacy requirements apply to office and street-lighting lamps