18 April 2017

Barrister accounts: Your FAQs answered

If you’re like many barristers, you probably have a fair few questions about your accounts and general financial arrangements. Not surprising really, as financial accounting for barristers is often complex with numerous matters which relate solely to your profession.

We've answered some common questions in our series of blogs, however, if you don’t find the answers you are looking for or would like to talk to our dedicated barrister team, drop us a line.

Barristers’ accounts and the taxation arising from those accounts is not straight forward. Complications include:

• The cash basis of accounting for the first 7 years of call/practice.
• Assessing which debtors are taxable especially on CFA cases.
• VAT – the Flat rate scheme.
• Cash accounting (new rules come into effect from April 2017/18).
• Expenses such as motoring cost, mobile and land line telephone costs.
• Court clothing – the difference in treatment for VAT and Income Tax.
• Style of trading - Sole Proprietor or Limited Company.
• Assistance from spouses/partners.
• Being able to offer proof and explanations for any estimates.
• Choice of year end – and the potential tax time bomb.
• Declared income for mortgage purposes.
• Pension contributions.
• Tax efficient wills and estate planning. (Yes, this can have income tax consequences as well).

Our specialist barrister team has drawn on its 30+ years of experience to answer some frequent accounting questions in our series of FAQ posts. For more information you can also download our helpful guide to Barrister accounts and taxation. 

If you are a Barrister looking for an accountant to help with your accounts and financial planning, we would recommend using a firm or individual specifically experienced in accounting for barristers, as they will be able offer proper support and guidance, ensuring everything is just as it should be. For a no obligation chat you can contact us on 0115 964 8888 or email at enquiries@rwbca.co.uk.

The views provided in this article are for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article represents advice of any nature whatsoever. Accordingly, RWB CA Limited does not accept any liability or responsibility for the information contained in this article or any decision or other action that may be taken in reliance upon the information contained within it. RWB CA Limited accepts no responsibility for any errors of fact or opinion and assumes no obligation to provide you with any changes to its assumptions.