Insights & Guides
Practical accounting, tax and property guidance from our team of ICAEW Chartered Accountants — written for owner-managed businesses, landlords and individuals across Kent and the UK.
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Our knowledge base is organised into seven topic areas — click any to see all articles in that topic.
Popular practical guides
Our most useful evergreen guides — regularly reviewed and kept up to date.
Latest tax & accounting updates
What Happens If a Director's Loan Exceeds £10,000?
The £10,000 rule is widely misunderstood. It is not a tax-free band — it is an exemption that disappears the moment the relevant loan total goes above £10,000, even temporarily. Here is how the beneficial-loan charge works in 2026/27.
Director's Loan Accounts Explained: A Simple Guide for Limited Company Directors
A director's loan account is not the company bank account — it is a legal debt owed to or from the company. Get it wrong and your company can face section 455 tax at 35.75% while you still owe the underlying money. Here is everything you need to know.
Section 455 Tax Explained: Director's Loan Rates, Deadlines and Repayment
Section 455 tax can cost a company £35,750 for every £100,000 a shareholder still owes at the relevant deadline — and the director still owes the underlying money. Here is how the charge works, when it becomes payable and how to avoid it.
How to Clear an Overdrawn Director's Loan Account
An overdrawn DLA does not have to stay that way. There are six main routes to clearing it — but each has different tax and timing consequences. Getting the sequence right can mean the difference between section 455 or no section 455.
The Director's Loan 9-Month Rule Explained
The nine-month rule is one of the most important deadlines in company tax. Miss it with an outstanding director's loan and your company faces section 455 tax at 35.75%. Here is exactly how to calculate the deadline and what counts as a valid repayment.
How to escape the £100k tax trap with pension contributions (2026/27 guide)
Between £100,000 and £125,140 the effective tax rate on your income is 60% — and crossing £100,000 can also cost you tax-free childcare and 30 free hours overnight. The fix is often simpler than people think: a well-timed pension contribution. Here's exactly how it works in 2026/27, with worked examples.
Lease accounting is changing for UK SMEs: FRS 102, Section 1A and FRS 105 compared
If your company rents its premises, vehicles or equipment, your accounts are about to look different. Here's what the 2026 FRS 102 lease changes mean for small companies — framework by framework — with a worked example and a preparation checklist.
Types of shares in UK private companies: a plain-English guide
Most private companies start life with plain ordinary shares — and many never need anything else. But the right share structure can unlock dividend flexibility, employee incentives and estate planning. Here's what each share type actually does.
UK audit thresholds and consolidated accounts: a guide for SMEs
The company size thresholds rose sharply for periods beginning on or after 6 April 2025, taking thousands of SMEs out of statutory audit. Here's how the new limits work, when a group must still be audited, and who has to prepare consolidated accounts.
Landlord Expenses: The Complete Checklist of What You Can Claim
Most landlords under-claim. From mileage and agent fees to insurance, training and the repairs-vs-capital rules, here's a checklist of every allowable expense — plus the answer on lease extension costs.
VAT on commercial-to-residential conversions: the two-company structure that saves VAT and SDLT
Converting offices or shops into homes? In the wrong structure, the VAT on the works is a straight cost. In the right one, you recover it in full — and the transfer to your letting company escapes SDLT too.
The tax-deductible expenses most businesses forget to claim
Every year we see the same perfectly legitimate expenses go unclaimed. Here are the ones most owner-managed businesses forget — and the conditions that make them allowable.
The Tax Benefits of Pension Contributions
Pension contributions can rescue your personal allowance above £100,000, protect your Child Benefit, and save your company corporation tax. Here's how the main benefits work.
The Benefits of a Holding Company in Your Corporate Structure
A holding company above your trading company can protect assets, move profits tax-efficiently and ease a future sale. Here's how the structure works and who it suits.
Family Investment Companies Explained: Freezer & Growth Shares
A Family Investment Company lets you grow wealth tax-efficiently and pass it down the generations while keeping control. Here's how FICs work, and the role of freezer and growth shares.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: What Sole Traders and Landlords Must Know
MTD for Income Tax is now live for sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000. Here's what quarterly digital reporting means, and how to prepare if you're next.
Substantial Shareholding Exemption: how UK companies sell subsidiaries tax-free
Sell a trading subsidiary and, if the conditions are met, the whole gain can be free of corporation tax — automatically, with no claim needed. Here's how the Substantial Shareholding Exemption works for owner-managed groups, in plain English.
The 2026/27 Tax Year: Key Changes Every Business Owner Should Know
A higher Business Asset Disposal Relief rate, employer NI at 15% and frozen thresholds: the 2026/27 changes that matter most to UK business owners.
Landlords in 2026/27: Section 24, Holiday Lets and Capital Gains
The end of Furnished Holiday Lettings, Section 24 mortgage relief, MTD and capital gains: a practical round-up of where landlords stand in 2026/27.
The Most Tax-Efficient Director's Salary and Dividends for 2026/27
How should a company director take pay in 2026/27? We walk through the salary and dividend numbers, the employer NIC trap and how to keep more profit.
Capital gains tax on second homes: the 2026 guide
Selling a second home in 2026/27? With a smaller annual exempt amount, the 60-day CGT window and the new rates, getting this right matters more than it used to.
Limited company vs personal ownership for property: which wins?
Should new buy-to-lets go into a limited company or your own name? The honest answer is 'it depends', so here's how to work out which side of the line you fall on.
Section 24 explained: mortgage interest relief for landlords
Section 24 changed buy-to-let economics overnight. If you're a higher-rate landlord, here's exactly how it hits your tax bill and what you can do.
Making Tax Digital explained: what businesses and landlords need to do
MTD has been a slow rollout, but the next phase catches a lot of sole traders and landlords. Here's what's happening, when, and what to do about it.
When should my business register for VAT?
The £90,000 threshold isn't the only thing that triggers VAT registration, and crossing it isn't always bad news. Here's what to weigh up first.
UK VAT Rates Explained: Standard, Zero-Rated, Exempt and Overseas Sales
Standard, reduced, zero-rated, exempt, outside the scope — the labels matter more than most people realise, especially when you sell overseas. Here's what each one means and where it goes on your VAT return.
Local insight & commentary
News, professional commentary and local business history from the PTG team in Rochester, Kent.
Why an independent local accountant still beats the big groups
The local accountancy landscape is consolidating fast, and many clients of newly acquired firms are noticing the difference: higher fees, less partner time, advice shaped by group targets. Independence lets a firm work differently. Here's what that means in practice — and how easy switching really is.
Chartered vs certified accountants: what the letters mean and why they matter
It surprises most people: unlike "solicitor", the word "accountant" has no legal protection in the UK. So what do "chartered" and "certified" actually guarantee, what is HMRC's new tax adviser registration regime, and how do you verify the firm you're about to trust with your finances? A plain-English guide.
The new government's tax and spending plans: what we know so far
A new Prime Minister, a new Chancellor and plenty of speculation. Here's what the government has actually said about tax and spending — and why the much-discussed wealth tax is less likely than the headlines suggest.
A short history of chartered accountancy: the ICAEW, and why an FCA-led firm matters
The letters "FCA" after an accountant's name trace back to a royal charter signed by Queen Victoria in 1880. This is the story of how chartered accountancy was invented, what the ICAEW does today, and why it matters that the firm looking after your accounts is owned and run by a Fellow Chartered Accountant — especially here in Rochester and the Medway Towns.
Marshes, bricks and energy: a business history of the Hoo Peninsula
The flat country between the Thames and the Medway looks empty, but it has carried an extraordinary succession of industries: marsh farming, bricks and cement, explosives, oil, gas and one of Britain's biggest container ports. Here's the working history of the Hoo Peninsula.
Paper, hops and the county town: a business history of Maidstone
Maidstone has been Kent's market place for seven centuries: ragstone shipped down the Medway, paper that carried the world's finest watercolours, beer and hops, toffee and buses. Here's how the county town earned its living — and what that means for its businesses now.
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