Duna Accountancy & Tax
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Quick answers

The questions everyone asks, answered in 30 seconds.

Short, straight answers for UK sole traders and limited company directors. Checked by a qualified accountant, updated for 2026/27.

All
Expenses
Paying yourself
Deadlines
VAT
Getting started
Expenses

Can I claim for working from home?

Sole traders can use a flat rate of £10 to £26 a month, depending on hours worked at home, or claim a fair share of actual bills. Limited company directors: your company can pay you £6 a week tax-free.

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Expenses

How much can I claim for business mileage?

45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p. Your regular commute to a permanent workplace doesn't count.

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Paying yourself

Can my company give me a gift tax-free?

Yes, as a trivial benefit: up to £50 per gift, not cash or a voucher that converts to cash, and not a reward for work. Directors of small companies are capped at £300 a year.

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Expenses

Is the Christmas party tax-deductible?

Yes, up to £150 a head per year for an annual event open to all staff. Go even £1 over and the whole amount becomes a taxable benefit.

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Expenses

Can I claim for clothes?

Only uniforms, protective wear or costumes. A suit you could wear anywhere else doesn't count, even if you only wear it for client meetings.

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Expenses

Can I put my phone through the business?

A mobile phone contract in the company's name is a tax-free benefit (one per employee). Sole traders can claim the business-use share of their bill.

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VAT

When do I have to register for VAT?

When your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months, or you expect to pass it in the next 30 days alone. Registering voluntarily can make sense too.

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Paying yourself

What if I borrow money from my company?

That's a director's loan. If it isn't repaid within 9 months of the year end, the company pays a temporary 33.75% tax charge on it. Loans over £10,000 can also be a taxable benefit.

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Paying yourself

Can I pay my partner through the business?

Yes, if they genuinely do work for the business and the pay is reasonable for that work. HMRC can challenge salaries that look like income splitting.

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Deadlines

When is Corporation Tax due?

Payment is due 9 months and 1 day after your company's year end. The CT600 return itself is due 12 months after the year end.

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Deadlines

What are payments on account?

If your Self Assessment bill is over £1,000, HMRC usually asks for two advance payments towards next year's bill: on 31 January and 31 July.

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Getting started

Do I need a separate business bank account?

Limited companies: yes in practice. The company's money isn't yours. Sole traders: not legally required, but it makes your records and Making Tax Digital far easier.

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Didn't see your question?

Send it in. We'll answer it here and on Instagram, without using your name. General information only, based on 2026/27 rules.

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Legal

Terms of business

Last updated: 13 November 2026

These terms apply when you engage Duna Accountancy & Tax to provide accounting, tax and related services. Please read them with your engagement confirmation, which sets out the services and fee you have agreed. If there is a conflict, your engagement confirmation prevails.

1. About us

Duna Accountancy & Tax is a trading name of Upscale Consultants Limited, registered in England and Wales (company number 08774883), with its registered office at 170 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5DP. We are licensed by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) as an AAT Licensed Accountant, licence number 1002228. In these terms, we, us and our mean Upscale Consultants Limited trading as Duna Accountancy & Tax, and you means the client named in your engagement confirmation.

2. Our services

We will provide the services set out in your engagement confirmation, which may include annual accounts, Corporation Tax or Self Assessment returns, bookkeeping, VAT returns and payroll. We will carry out our services with reasonable skill and care and in line with the professional standards of AAT.

Our services are limited to what is set out in your engagement confirmation. Anything outside that scope, such as tax planning, investigations, grant or finance applications or help with HMRC enquiries, is not included unless we agree it in writing. Information on our website and in our guides is general guidance and is not personal advice.

3. Your responsibilities

To allow us to do our work properly, you agree to:

  • give us complete, accurate and timely information and records, and tell us promptly if anything changes;
  • keep proper accounting records and respond to our requests within a reasonable time;
  • review and approve your accounts and returns before we file them, as you remain responsible for them;
  • authorise us to act as your agent with HMRC and Companies House where needed; and
  • pay any tax, penalties or filing fees that are due, on time.

We will tell you the dates by which we need your records. If we receive them late, we may not be able to meet the filing deadline, and you are responsible for any resulting penalties or interest.

4. Fees and payment

Our fees are set out in your engagement confirmation and are fixed for the services and scope agreed. We will not charge for additional work unless we have agreed it with you first.

  • Monthly fees are paid in advance by Direct Debit or another agreed method.
  • Annual fees are paid in advance for the year, before we begin the work, unless we agree otherwise.
  • VAT is added to our fees where applicable, and third-party charges such as Companies House fees are charged at cost.
  • We may review our fees once a year. We will give you at least 30 days' written notice of any change.

If a payment is late, we may pause our services until it is made. We will not file returns or accounts while fees are unpaid, and we are not responsible for deadlines missed as a result.

5. Starting, ending and changing the service

Our service begins when we have completed our client checks (see section 8) and you have accepted your engagement confirmation.

  • Monthly services: either of us can end the service by giving at least 30 days' written notice.
  • Annual services: the service runs for 12 months and renews each year unless either of us gives notice of at least 30 days before renewal. Fees paid for the current year are not refunded if you end the service early, except where we have failed to provide it as agreed.
  • We may end the service immediately if you do not pay our fees, do not give us the information we need, behave abusively towards our staff, or if we are required to by law or by our professional obligations.

If you move to another accountant, we will respond to a professional clearance request and provide a reasonable handover of your information. We will return your records on request, subject to being paid any outstanding fees. We may keep copies of our working papers as the law and our professional obligations require.

6. Confidentiality and data protection

We keep your information confidential and will not disclose it except where you have asked us to, where it is needed to provide our services, or where the law or our professional obligations require it. We handle your personal data as described in our privacy policy.

7. Money laundering and legal requirements

We must comply with the UK anti-money laundering rules, and we are supervised for anti-money laundering purposes by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT). This means we must verify the identity of our clients, may need to ask for evidence of the source of funds, and in some circumstances must report suspicions to the authorities. We may be legally prevented from telling you that we have done so, and we cannot be held liable to you for acting in line with these requirements.

8. Client checks

Before we start work, and from time to time afterwards, we will carry out identity and client due diligence checks. We may decline to act or stop acting if we cannot complete them to our satisfaction.

9. Limit of our liability

  • Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.
  • Subject to that, our total liability to you for all claims arising from our services in any year is limited to five times the annual fee you pay us for the service concerned.
  • We are not liable for any loss caused by information or records you give us being late, incomplete or inaccurate, or by you not following our advice, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, such as loss of profit.
  • We hold professional indemnity insurance as required by AAT.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with our service, please follow our complaints procedure.

11. Intellectual property

We own the copyright in our documents, templates and website content. You may use the reports and returns we prepare for you for your own business purposes, but you may not copy or resell our materials.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The version current when you engage us applies to your engagement, and we will give you at least 30 days' written notice of any changes that affect an ongoing service. The latest version is always on this page.

13. General

These terms and your engagement confirmation are the whole agreement between us for the services. If any part of them is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. A person who is not party to this agreement has no right to enforce it. These terms and any dispute arising from them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

14. Contact us

Email hello@dunatax.com, or write to Duna Accountancy & Tax, 170 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5DP.