In January 2019 I sold some shares as part of a company buy out. Knowing there would be a tax liability I asked John if he could show me how to inform HMRC and look at the calculation of tax payable. I thought it would be around £5,000. I had made a profit on the sale, so it was to be expected.
John asked for all the information on the shares, when I bought them, how much I paid for them as well as the details of the sale. It was quite difficult to find as it went back several years, but John said he needed the information to calculate the tax correctly and it was important to claim whatever we could.
He also asked for details of my income from employment and questions about pension contributions and gift aid in order to ensure that I was paying the correct amount of tax.
With all the details to hand John calculated a capital gains liability of just £990! Was I glad I asked for his help!
But that was not all. Because of his diligence in asking me what I thought were slightly pointless questions, John also discovered that I was able to claim additional tax relief on personal pension contributions I had been making. This saved me a further £300 on my 2018/19 tax.
And there was more. John was able to claim contributions that had been made in previous years and he got me back another £900!
From expecting a £5,000 tax bill I ended up obtaining a refund of £210. And I know to make sure I receive the tax relief in future too.
I would highly recommend John; thanks to him I was able to go on an extra holiday!
