Consultants & Engineers accounting, handled.
Engineering tax headaches?
Looking for an accountant for consultants and engineers who actually understands your world? Whether you're an independent management consultant, a contract civil or mechanical engineer working through your own limited company, or a small engineering consultancy, your tax position turns on details a generalist routinely fumbles, IR35, the VAT Flat Rate "limited cost trader" trap, R&D relief, CIS and your List 3 professional subscriptions. Zmartly pairs you with an ACCA-qualified, named accountant who gets it, on fixed monthly pricing with no surprises.
- 4.9 Google · 63 reviews
- ACCA-qualified
- 30-day money-back
What a consultants & engineer specialist gets right.
- 01
Stop overpaying VAT on the Flat Rate Scheme
Almost every consultant and engineer who buys little more than software and a laptop fails HMRC's 'limited cost trader' test, spending under 2% of turnover (or under £1,000 a year) on goods, and is forced onto the punishing 16.5% flat rate rather than the 14.5% sector rate. At that point the scheme usually costs you money. We model flat rate versus standard VAT every year so you're never paying HMRC more than you owe.
- 02
Get your IR35 status right before HMRC asks
Contract engineers and consultants live or die by IR35. Since April 2021 most medium and large clients decide your status, but if you work for a small company the determination, and the liability, is back on your own limited company. A wrong 'outside IR35' call can mean back-tax, NIC and penalties. We review contracts and working practices so the position is defensible.
- 03
Claim R&D relief generalists miss
Engineering consultancies that solve genuine technical uncertainty, novel structures, bespoke control systems, materials problems, can often claim under the merged R&D expenditure credit scheme. Many accountants never raise it because they don't recognise routine-looking engineering as qualifying. We scope it properly and keep the contemporaneous records HMRC now demands.
- 04
Capture every allowable expense
Your IMechE, IET, ICE or CIBSE subscription is on HMRC's approved List 3 and is deductible. So is the 55p-per-mile site-visit mileage, your home-office use, testing kit and laptops under the £1m Annual Investment Allowance or full expensing. We make sure none of it slips through.
- ACCAChartered-qualified accountants on your file
- 4.9Average Google review rating
- 72 hrsReply commitment, every query
- From £99Fixed monthly, no surprise bills
Everything a consultants & engineer needs, in depth.
01IR35 and off-payroll working
We assess each engagement, review your contracts and actual working practices, and advise on whether you sit inside or outside IR35. Where a small-company client leaves the decision with you, we document a defensible position and structure salary, dividends and pension accordingly to keep your take-home efficient and compliant.
02VAT registration, Flat Rate and MTD
We track you against the £90,000 registration threshold, test the Flat Rate Scheme limited-cost-trader rule every quarter (the 16.5% trap), advise on voluntary registration if you mainly invoice VAT-registered clients, and keep you compliant with Making Tax Digital filing.
03R&D tax relief for engineering
For consultancies tackling real technical uncertainty, we identify qualifying projects and costs under the merged RDEC scheme (and Enhanced R&D Intensive Support where you're loss-making and R&D-intensive), prepare the technical narrative and cost breakdown, and handle the additional information form HMRC now requires.
04CIS, when engineers are caught
Pure design and consultancy by engineers is excluded from the Construction Industry Scheme, but step into project management or on-site execution and CIS can apply, with 20% (or 30% if unregistered) deducted at source. We work out which side of the line your work falls and reclaim over-deducted CIS on your returns.
05Limited company, dividends and pension
We run an optimal salary/dividend split for 2026/27, factor in Corporation Tax (19% up to £50k, 25% over £250k with marginal relief between), and use employer pension contributions, a deductible, NIC-free way to extract profit, to cut your overall tax bill.
06Expenses, capital allowances and mileage
List 3 professional subscriptions (IMechE, IET, ICE, CIBSE), 55p-per-mile site mileage for the first 10,000 business miles, home-office costs, test equipment and laptops under the £1m Annual Investment Allowance or full expensing, we capture every legitimate claim and keep the records straight.
Guides for consultants & engineers
Plain-English explainers, kept current with the latest HMRC rules.
Frequently asked questions.
Yes. IR35 decides whether HMRC treats you as a disguised employee. For medium and large clients the client makes the determination, but if you contract with a small company the decision and the tax liability rest with your own company. We review your contracts and real working practices so you can take an 'outside IR35' position that would stand up to challenge.
Often not. Because consultants and engineers spend very little on goods, most fail the 'limited cost trader' test, under 2% of turnover, or under £1,000 a year, and are pushed to the 16.5% rate instead of 14.5% for professional services. At 16.5% the scheme usually costs more than standard VAT. We check it every year so you stay on the cheaper method.
Frequently, yes. If you're resolving genuine scientific or technological uncertainty, novel designs, bespoke systems, difficult materials or load cases, the work can qualify under the merged R&D expenditure credit scheme. Many accountants miss it because the engineering looks routine to them. We scope qualifying projects and prepare the technical and cost evidence HMRC requires.
It depends on what you actually do. Engineers acting in their normal professional discipline, design and consultancy, are excluded from CIS. But once you take on project management or are involved in executing and managing the construction work, CIS can apply, with 20% deducted at source (30% if you're not CIS-registered). We determine which applies and reclaim any over-deduction.
Yes, if the body is on HMRC's approved List 3, which includes the IMechE, IET, ICE and CIBSE. Where you hold more than one relevant membership, the relief stacks. We make sure these are claimed through your company or your return rather than overlooked.
If you use your own car, the HMRC simplified rate for 2026/27 is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile after that. Site visits, client meetings and travel to temporary workplaces all count. We keep the log straight so the claim is robust.
You get a named, ACCA-qualified accountant on fixed monthly pricing, £99, £199 or £499 depending on your needs, with no long tie-in, just rolling monthly. We reply within 72 hours, work with Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage, and back it with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Stop overpaying tax. Start filing in 5 days.
Thirty minutes with an ACCA-qualified accountant. Most owners uncover £1,000-£3,000 in annual savings on the first call. If we are not the right fit, you walk away with a free tax review on the house.
