Total books, your personal tax accountants
At Total Books, we understand that everyone’s financial situation is unique, which is why we offer bespoke personal tax services. We can help you at whatever stage of life you’re at – business owner, investor, or retiree. Our personal tax accountants offer clear and practical advice, helping you meet your obligations and make tax-efficient savings.
Excellent service. Buhir guided me through my self-assessment tax returns. He took the time to explain complex affairs in easy terms and was always quick to respond to any queries. Both Buhir and the team genuinely look after their customers. Will recommend to family/friends!
– Curtis A-W.
We’re a forward-thinking accounting firm that strives to help you make the most of what modern accounting software has to offer. With our help organising your personal tax affairs, you can relax knowing your data is safe and secure, and deadlines won’t get missed.
Contact Total Books today to speak to a tax accountant.
What is personal tax?
Personal tax is the money you pay to HMRC based on your earnings from employment, self-employment, pensions, investments, and savings. It can take the form of Income Tax, National Insurance contributions, CGT, or even Inheritance Tax. To declare this to HMRC, a Self-Assessment tax return needs to be completed within nine months of your company’s year-end each year.
The amount of tax you pay will vary depending on how much you earn after using your personal allowances and tax reliefs. It’s a headache trying to learn it yourself, we know. You could spend countless hours learning from HMRC YouTube videos and still make mistakes. That’s why it can be good to work with a personal tax accountant who knows the tax system inside out – an accountant like Total Books.
What taxes does personal tax include?
Your personal tax affairs cover everything from UK and foreign income to selling property and giving or receiving an inheritance.
Income Tax
When you generate income, whether that’s through employment, self-employment, renting out property or other earnings, you have to pay Income Tax. Employers take on this responsibility for employees, and you can easily find the PAYE tax deductions at the bottom of your payslip.
But, if you’re self-employed, you have to pay Income Tax yourself by submitting a Self-Assessment tax return. It can get confusing when you add tax schemes and allowances to the mix, which is why we’re here to help.
Capital Gains Tax
Capital Gains Tax is due when you make a profit on selling certain high-value items (like property or business assets). Not all assets require you to pay tax, and you also have a tax-free allowance to help ease the impact.
Don’t worry if you’re selling your main home. Under the Private Residence Relief rules, you won’t be expected to pay CGT (unless you have rented it out or used it for business purposes).
Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax is due on your estate after you have passed. It can be difficult and take a long time for your loved ones to settle the taxes due to the legal procedures holding people back. There isn’t always tax to pay if your estate is below the £325,000 threshold (2024/25) or if you leave the excess amount to a spouse, civil partner or charity.
If you want to leave property and other possessions to your loved ones, then you should consider Inheritance Tax planning to ease the burden and make life easier when the time comes.
Our personal tax planning service
Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to worry about tax? At Total Books, we’re committed to making you feel at ease by taking on your tax obligations.
Our services are tailored to your own personal circumstances. Whether you’re looking to invest in stocks or thinking about winding down for retirement, we’ll make sure your taxes work in your favour.
Here’s what our personal tax services include:
- Preparation and timely submissions of the online Self-Assessment tax returns
- Business tax advice that minimises tax liabilities
- Strategic business exit planning
- Advice on Capital Gains Tax implications when selling assets, businesses or property
- Retirement tax planning, managing pension contributions and tax relief
- Compassionate Inheritance tax planning for you and your loved ones
- Assured tax compliance with relevant tax rules and deadlines
- Foreign tax liability declarations
- Let property taxes and let property campaign declarations
- Support with tax investigations and HMRC fines for late filings
Why choose Total Books for personal tax advice?
If you’re struggling to stay on top of your taxes or want to take a new step in your life, Total Books can offer personal tax advice and guidance to make sure you do it right. We help save time, reduce stress and minimise tax liability.
Book a consultation with one of our tax experts today!
Frequently asked questions about personal tax
How long do you need to keep personal tax records in the UK?
You should keep your tax return records for at least 15 months if your Self-Assessment tax return was submitted after the deadline or 22 months if it was submitted before.
In terms of the business records you use to file tax returns, you should keep them for at least 5 years in case HMRC decides to check them.
When do you lose your personal tax allowance?
The standard personal tax allowance is £12,570 (2024/25). This tax-free figure gets smaller the more money you earn. This goes down by £1 for every £2 that your adjusted net income is above £100,000 until the allowance for personal taxes reaches zero once your income exceeds £125,140.
Personal tax for clients in Cardiff, Newport and Bristol
Most of the personal tax work we do sits along the M4 corridor, and it splits cleanly in two. Cardiff and Newport clients are Welsh taxpayers, with a C at the front of the tax code. Bristol clients are English taxpayers. For 2026 to 2027 the bands are identical, so the difference does not move the bill. It moves the paperwork, and that is where returns go wrong.
Residence is decided by where your main home was across the tax year, 6 April to 5 April, not where you were on any given date and not where you work. People who move across the Severn mid year, or who keep a place on both sides, are the ones who end up on the wrong code. We check that flag against HMRC's record before we touch the numbers.
The date that drives everything. 11:59pm on 31 January 2027 is the online filing deadline for the 2025 to 2026 return, the balancing payment, and the first payment on account for 2026 to 2027. Three charges, one date. Late filing starts at £100 whether or not there is tax to pay, and late payment interest is running at 7.75 per cent as at 9 October 2026.
What we take on
- The return itself, filed as your registered HMRC agent, with the residence and coding checked first.
- Payments on account, including the case for reducing them where income has genuinely fallen, and the interest risk if that call turns out wrong.
- Returns carrying rental profit, capital gains, foreign income or a mix, where the work is reconciliation rather than data entry.
- HMRC correspondence afterwards, so coding notices and queries come to us.
Where we work
Welsh taxpayers, directors and the self employed across the city and the Vale.
Accountants in CardiffWelsh rules, often with employment or property on the English side.
Accountants in NewportEngland rates, and the cross border returns that get flagged the wrong way.
Accountants in BristolThe run up to 31 January 2027, month by month, and the 30 December date almost nobody knows about.
The 31 January 2027 deadlineCommon questions
What does a personal tax return cost with Total Books?
It depends on what is on the return. A single employment with some dividends is a different job from a return carrying rental profit, a capital gain and foreign income. We quote a fixed fee once we have seen what is actually in scope, on the free call, before any work starts.
I have income from three or four different places. Can you pull it together?
That is the usual case rather than the hard one. Employment, self employment, rental profit, dividends, savings interest, pension income and gains all sit on the same return, and the work is making the figures agree with what HMRC already holds rather than typing them in.
Will you deal with HMRC for me?
Yes, as your registered agent. That covers filing, coding notices, payments on account and anything HMRC raises afterwards, so letters come to us rather than landing on your mat unanswered.
I live in Wales. Does that change how you handle my return?
It changes the code, not the bands. Welsh taxpayers carry a C prefix and the 2026 to 2027 Welsh rates match England and Northern Ireland. We check the residence flag on HMRC's record first, because a wrong one produces figures that will not reconcile.
Tell us what is on your return and we will tell you the fee and what we need from you, on the call, before anything starts.
Rates, deadlines and interest stated as published on GOV.UK at 9 October 2026. General information, not advice on your own position.
