Self Assessment, Tax Returns And Payments On Account

Your Self Assessment tax return has to reflect income that moves around from month to month. We prepare your tax returns, calculate payments on account, and help ensure you set aside enough for your tax bill so nothing catches you out and you meet every deadline. Most people in this profession also have National Insurance to think about alongside income tax, and we factor both into your figures rather than just the headline bill.

Making Tax Digital And Cash Basis Accounting

Cash basis accounting became the default method for eligible sole traders and partnerships from 6 April 2024, which changes how the timing of fee receipts affects your tax efficiency. We keep your records MTD compliant using cloud-based digital record-keeping systems, and make sure your affairs stay compliant with Making Tax Digital as the rules develop.

Chambers finances work differently to ordinary bookkeeping, especially at large chambers with dozens of tenants sharing clerks and services. Your chambers statement, clerks' fees, and fee collection all need reconciling against what actually lands in your account, and outstanding fees can quietly eat into your cash flow if nobody's watching them. There's a lot of work behind every chambers statement, and we handle it so you don't have to.

Our chambers accountants reconcile your fees line by line and give you a clear picture of what's owed and when it's likely to arrive.

Pupillage And The Move Into Independent Practice

The 2026 minimum pupillage award is £25,863 in London and £23,504 outside London, and pupil barristers often face their first Self Assessment return while still learning the ropes. Our team understands the pressure of that first year, and we help with budgeting, tax payments, and planning the move into independent practice.

Managing Irregular Income As An Established Barrister

Barrister income can move a lot from year to year depending on instructions, trials, and when fees are actually paid. We help you forecast cash flow, build an income buffer, and set aside money for tax as it comes in.

There's often a gap between finishing a piece of work and actually being paid for it, and that timing gap is exactly what creates cash-flow pressure at the wrong moment. Cash-flow management matters more here than in most professions, simply because income doesn't arrive on a predictable schedule.

Many barristers also earn from advisory services, teaching, writing or consultancy, combined with their advocacy work, and more than 3,000 professionals, roughly 24% of the self-employed Bar, sit on government legal panels. We bring these income streams together into one clear picture rather than treating each one separately.

Financial Planning For Barristers Taking Silk

For barristers taking silk, income and financial planning both step up a level. We help newly appointed KCs manage higher rate tax planning, pension contributions during high income years, and investment planning. Recent Bar earnings research continues to point to gender and ethnicity-related income differences, which makes long term pension planning particularly relevant as income increases.

We offer a personal touch that larger, generalist firms often can't match. You'll speak to chambers accountants who understand how chambers really work, with guidance provided by chartered accountants who have genuine experience of the profession, not a call centre that needs everything explained from scratch. Specialist support like ours also takes the day-to-day financial admin off your plate, rather than leaving you to piece it together between hearings.

What sets Vexo Accounting apart is a tailored approach built around barristers' income patterns and career stage, led by chartered accountants and a management style led by people who've spent years working only with the profession and chambers. As a specialist accountancy firm, we understand the specific financial requirements of barristers and chambers.

Our services cover VAT returns, annual accounts, HMRC enquiries and general management of your day-to-day accounts, and our team understands what you're dealing with and works efficiently so you can find more time for your cases. We're happy to answer questions before you decide, and the choice of who manages your accounts should be one you feel good about. The level of support provided depends entirely on your circumstances and how much you want us to handle.