A tax professional is a qualified financial professional with extensive knowledge and expertise of tax laws and taxation. The duties of a qualified tax professional are generally retained for a long period of time in order to minimise tax payable whilst remaining compliant with legislation in complicated financial situations.
The financial advisor is responsible for planning your returns to help ensure that you are as compliant as possible, and helps you plan your expenditure in order to maximise tax return savings. In some cases the tax professional may also be expected to manage your financial affairs if you do not have access to this type of professional assistance. This can involve providing advice on the types of accounts and loans, managing pension funds, and providing general advice to aid in deciding which investment portfolio to choose.
A qualified financial advisor will also advise you on the types of options available to you when confronted with a variety of scenarios. These include:
Although a tax professional can work independently to provide a wide range of financial and taxation advice, you may find that the advice offered by a registered tax consultant is more focused on your specific tax situation and that you receive more detailed information in relation to your tax affairs. A registered tax consultant will be able to offer you professional tax guidance in the preparation and filing of your personal income tax returns.
There are some limitations to the level of tax assistance you can receive from a tax advisor. If you have recently become unemployed, disabled, or recently had to undertake voluntary redundancy, you may not be eligible for any tax relief through a qualified financial advisor.
The Registered Tax Consultant (RTC) Code of Conduct sets out the rules for the professional tax adviser. If you wish to further investigate the area of financial matters, and would like to hire the services of a qualified financial advisor in your area, you should consider registering with the RTC.
In order to register as a tax consultant you must first have undergone a comprehensive assessment of your abilities and suitability for this role. Your assessment may include a medical examination and an interview by a member of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Once you have passed your assessment, you must be certified by the Financial Services Authority as a registered financial adviser. You must also have passed a standard examination conducted by a government-approved accrediting body.
A registered tax advisor is required to register with the RTC as a tax professional before he/she can act on your behalf as a tax advisor. The financial adviser may only recommend a particular financial advisor registered with the FSA.
