Client Story
How we got a Folkestone self-employed creative £4,600 back and onto the right footing
Client M is a self-employed artist and maker in Folkestone's Creative Quarter, juggling project commissions, gallery and retail sales and occasional workshops. They'd been filing basic self-assessments without claiming most of their legitimate expenses, were unsure about VAT as turnover grew, and had overpaid tax for two years.
We reconstructed the expenses: studio costs, materials, equipment (with capital allowances), a home-office proportion, travel, exhibition and gallery costs, software and phone. We re-filed the two open years claiming everything, advised on the VAT position as turnover grew, and set up simple cloud bookkeeping so the right figures are captured going forward.
Total outcome: refund of £4,600 across the two years after proper expense and capital allowance claims, clear VAT guidance, and a simple system that keeps the figures right and the tax bill correct each year.