Hilary Bevan

How I can help you?

You want to be able to provide an all round service to your clients.  Sometimes that will mean you need some extra support when it comes to VAT.

I'm happy to work in whatever way suits you best.  Some accountants put me in touch with their clients directly, so it is off their desk, some prefer me to work through the answer with them, so they understand the issues and can spot them another time.

VAT services

Most of my time is spent dealing with land & property queries or partial exemption but I love all VAT conundrums and am happy to help with anything (UK only - I don't have experience of overseas VAT).

Working together

Depending on location, I'm happy to meet face to face or online.  All advice is provided in writing via email so you have a record for your files.

I charge an hourly rate of £220 + VAT for work done and bill at the end of every month.

The VAT Ready Club

The VAT Ready Club is a members club for accountants, to help them be ready to support their clients' VAT needs.  

Steeled membership, at £200 + VAT per month includes:

 - all queries covered which take up to 1 hour to deal with

 - special members rate of £200 + VAT per hour for more complex/longer queries

 - a lunchtime webinar once a month (recorded for those who can't attend).  Topics so far have included TOGCs, Options to Tax, Partial Exemption, and a Case Law Update

My background and experience

I started off in 1998 at a local firm of accountants where I did a bit of everything - year end accounts, management accounts, corporation tax returns, VAT returns, auditing, payroll, etc.

I studied for the AAT qualification and also for ACCA.  I then did the Chartered Tax Adviser Exams and that coincided with the firm's VAT specialist deciding to retire and so it was decided that I would take over his role.  No one chooses VAT but that was the best thing that ever happened to me as I ended up loving it!

I grew the role as much as I could within the firm but then in 2018, I took the decision to set up on my own, focusing purely on providing VAT advice.

A typical week

As I work mainly with accountants, providing one off VAT advice in connection with specific questions, there is no such thing as a typical week, but a recent week included:

• presenting a webinar to VAT Ready Club members on case law updates
• answering a question from an accountant about a client selling some land and whether they should opt to tax it or not
• preparing a report for a charity reviewing their income streams and considering which were non business, which were exempt, and which were standard rated
• assisting a trust with drafting a reply to HMRC about their first VAT return
• submitting a VAT registration application for a property development company
• reviewing an email an accountant had drafted in response to a query from HMRC and confirming they had covered everything
• reviewing a sale contract and commenting on whether it was likely to be a TOGC

The VAT Practitioners' Group

I am a member (and the Treasurer) of the VAT Practitioners' Group.  We are a group of VAT specialists who meet regularly to discuss complex cases or changes in VAT rules.  If I don't know the answer to something, someone in the VPG will!

Outside work

I am a keen trail runner (note: keen, rather than quick - what I lack in speed, I make up for in enthusiasm!).  I love spending a Sunday exploring the countryside of North Yorkshire.  

My husband is in a punk band so Friday and Saturday nights are often spent in a pub somewhere, selling t-shirts and CDs.