ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom’s self-assessment basis for taxation requires the taxpayer to submit accurate accounts and, with accounting standards, that expects the costs of what is sold to be matched against the income from. While this feeds into the management and tax accounts for a farm business, this assessment is best undertaken by an agricultural valuer. The accountant may require depreciation to be shown separately so that it can be removed as an adjustment for the tax accounts and replaced by capital allowances. Taxpayers cannot alternate between deemed and actual costs; if for whatever reason a move is made to actual costs they must then be applied as a matter of consistency. The valuer should establish the division of work with the client’s accountant for clarity in the instructions and to avoid the risk of omission of work or double counting. This is important as, strictly, the tax accounts adjustments for the herd basis and depreciation are made by the accountant.
