[Help] Do i need an accountant to submit my self-assessment tax return?

[warmleyseagull]

In all previous years I have had a family friend who was a retired accountant who did just a few books for friends, he unfortunately had an accident and with it all going digital from next year he has finally fully retired from ding anyones.

I’m a self-employed sole trader below the VAT threshold and do all my own accounting as far as I can using spread sheets.
I correlate all the invoices with running totals, like wise with recipes and number them all sequentially.

I know my total net and gross income for the year along with total expenditure with all receipts numbered and broken down in to areas such as materials, Van running costs, tools, marketing etc.

Its the tyre 2 and type 4 NI Contributions and knowing what I can claim for I get stuck on.

I have approach another accountant recommended to me and was staggered to be quoted £600 + vat to submit my tax return. Is this a normal amount for this service or am I just being as tight arse.

Assuming you can actual submit your own accounts, is it a wise thing to do, or should you seek professional accountants help.

Finally are there any NSC users that deal in submitting tax returns?

If you are that good at keeping records, save the £600+ VAT. Use a software such as TaxCalc (that I have used for years) and follow the Simple Step procedures. NI and tax will be computed automatically so you don't need to worry about type 2 & 4 contributions.

As regards what you can claim in terms of expenses, the rule is that expenditure must be wholly and exclusively for the business. This is impractical for some expenditure - eg if you use a vehicle for home and business use - so take a fair proportion as business. How you compute fair is of course up to you...