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Many tax professionals I speak to tell me they don’t feel confident when it comes to looking into technical points and reaching tax conclusions.

In this episode, I share why I think many people lack confidence in this area before sharing 6 practical tips to help you improve your confidence.

Links

Tax Research Masterclass (built the confidence of many tax professionals)

Episode show notes

Timings

• Amy's tax research transformation story - from no confidence to being very good
• [00:03:16] Why tax professionals/advisors lack confidence with tax research and technical
• [00:05:40] Tip 1: Start Proving to Yourself That You Can Do It with Simpler Scenarios
• [00:07:35] Tip 2: Learn how to do each element of research well (helped by training)
• [00:09:55] Tip 3: Get Involved in As Much Tax Research As Possible
• [00:11:29] Tip 4: Ask for help if you get stuck
• [00:12:30] Tip 5: Document Your Research and Reasoning for Conclusions
• [00:13:43] Tip 6: Accept tax research is complicated, difficult and slow 
• [00:15:13] Two key principles underlying the tips
• [00:17:00] Amber Kirton-Vaughan's learnings and improvements from the Tax Research Masterclass

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 In this episode, Jack Bonehill (2023 Taxation’s Rising Star winner) is joined by Charlie Friend (2025 Taxation’s Rising Star winner) to share their advice on how to excel early in your tax career, progress quickly, and create an award-winning Rising Star application. 

Links

Episode show notes

The Tax Lab: free webinars to improve your tax skills. Real scenarios, tackled live. Includes past recordings.

Masterclasses for Tax Professionals: Tax Advice Masterclass and Tax Research Masterclass.

Timings

• [00:01:53] Charlie introduction
• [00:03:35] Introducing the topic: Journey to Winning Tolley's Taxation's Rising Star
• [00:04:15] What Charlie did to make PwC tax manager at 24
• [00:08:18] How Charlie got her tax career off to quick and successful progression and promotion in the early stages
• [00:12:05] Key advice: Focus on what you can control with your tax career & mindset
• [00:13:49] Jack's advice for excelling early in your career 
• [00:15:12] Why Charlie decided to apply for Taxation's Rising Star & why she didn't apply earlier
• [00:21:00] Advice to create a winning Tolley's Taxation Awards application (Taxation's Rising Star in particular)
• [00:34:51] The Night Charlie Won
• [00:38:41] What does Charlie think led to her winning over other people?
• [00:42:22] What's next for Charlie & Jack?
• [00:44:58] How Charlie knows that she doesn't want to become a tax partner
• [00:49:18] Charlie & Jack's advice for early stages of your tax career if you want to excel

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In accountancy firms, tax teams can easily give away advice for free, often with no recognition, to clients of the wider firm. This can cause friction and can be difficult to manage. In this episode, host Jack Bonehill is joined by David Maslen, Head of Tax at Old Mill, to discuss why this happens and to share practical insights to help you obtain a fee or other recognition for your tax team’s valuable work. 

Links

Episode show notes

The Tax Lab: free webinars to improve your tax skills. Real scenarios, tackled live. Includes past recordings.

Timings

• [00:01:45]Intro to David
• [00:05:04] Introducing the topic for the episode (how to charge firm's clients for tax advice/do for free expectation)
• [00:07:07] What David thinks cause/underpins the "billing for tax work issues" in accountancy firms
• [00:09:47] Wanting to help and not wanting to talk about fees
• [00:13:21] Potential solution: clarify what is and isn't covered by annual fees or fees for non tax work
• [00:14:53] The impact of "who holds the client relationship"
• [00:16:24] Non-tax specialists quoting for the tax work
• [00:17:06] Pushback on fees is more from colleagues than the client
• [00:19:35] How Jack tries to solve the problem
• [00:22:36] Relationships with your colleagues and how that helps
• [00:27:01] Colleagues trusting you and feeling reassured
• [00:31:23] Jack's summary of David's way of dealing with the issue and Jack's own tip
• [00:31:45] How a tax team framework could help
• [00:34:00] The value of a tax team to a firm outside of billing/fees
• [00:38:01] How David ensures recognition where tax can't bill for the work
• [00:43:11] David's final advice on the challenge

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In this episode of The Tax Professionals Podcast, host Jack Bonehill joined MTD Therapy, a community for accountants and tax advisors, for an unfiltered discussion — sometimes full-on ranting — about the latest UK Budget.

Around the ranting, you’ll hear clear explanations of the key Budget announcements and expert insights into them.

Episode show notes

The Tax Lab: free webinars to improve your tax skills. Real scenarios, tackled live.  

MTD Therapy

Timings

• [00:01:49] First rant
• [00:08:07] Start of technical discussions on the announcements
• [00:14:22] Pension Salary Sacrifice Changes
• [00:20:17] Electric cars
• [00:25:56] Writing Down Allowances (WDAs)
• [00:29:25] Employee benefits/expenses tax changes
• [00:36:45] Working from home expenses
• [00:39:21] Tax industry - positive or negative direction?
• [00:41:27] Regular payments throughout the year for self assessment
• [00:45:18] MTD

Guests

• Robyn Milstead, Director of Tax at LKA Chartered Accountants & Director of Accountants Therapy
• Tom Bickle, Director of JP Blackmoor & Director of Accountants Therapy
• Emma Rawson, Director of Public Policy, Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT)

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Your advice is probably full of unnecessary tax jargon without you even realising it. However, you can use simpler language without losing meaning — and your advice will be much better for it. In this episode, host Jack Bonehill identifies the overly complex wording in a real piece of tax advice and shows how the same points can be written in plain English that clients actually understand and will love you for.

Episode show notes

The Tax Lab: free webinars to improve your tax skills. Real scenarios, tackled live.  

The Tax Advice Masterclass: teaching you a repeatable method to write high-quality tax advice with confidence and less self-doubt.

Timings

 00:14 – Intro: turning complex tax language into plain English that clients love.
 01:11 – Client scenario: husband-and-wife partnership selling business units.
 03:15 – Simplifying “income tax implications.”
 06:13 – Simplifying “capital disposal” and removing jargon.
 10:18 – Explaining rollover relief in plain English.
 13:17 – Breaking down business asset disposal relief (BADR) simply.
 15:45 – Using examples and numbers to make advice tangible.
 

Similar episodes:

TTPP124: Two Questions That Make Your Tax Advice Instantly Better in Your Clients’ Eyes

TTPP83: Improve Your Tax Advice Skills – Stories and Tips of 2 Tax Professionals

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You might be giving technically perfect tax advice — but if it’s too long or too complicated, it won’t land well with clients.

In this episode, Jack Bonehill shares a real story where two simple questions helped turn a colleague’s advice from technical to client-friendly. You can use these questions to instantly make your advice clearer, shorter, and more valuable from a client’s perspective.

If you want to deliver better advice that clients truly value — this episode is for you.

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP124

The Tax Lab (real scenarios, tackled live:  https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/thetaxlab/

Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/

Timings

• [00:00:25] Story: reviewing a colleague’s draft of tax advice and simplifying it with two simple questions
• [00:02:13] Example: how we tend to overcomplicate advice with unnecessary detail
• [00:03:34] Why cutting complexity throughout a report makes advice stronger overall
• [00:04:38] How to make your advice more client-friendly
• [00:06:22] A two-step method — draft first, refine later using the two key questions
• [00:07:41] Exercise: how to apply the two questions in your next piece of advice
• [00:09:29] Upcoming sessions and future topics in The Tax Lab

The Tax Lab

Sharpen your skills as a tax advisor by seeing exactly how I think and approach real scenarios that we encounter as tax professionals, with The Tax Lab.

The Tax Lab gives you a glimpse inside my mind — my thoughts and my approach — as I tackle real scenarios live, so you can refine your own way of working.

Sessions of The Tax Lab are free to attend. Sign up so I can invite you to all future sessions.

Sign up here

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Claritas Tax started in 2012 as a one-person venture. Today, it’s a 100-strong firm with eight offices across the UK. In this episode, Iain Wright, founder of Claritas, shares the journey from leaving a safe career path to building arguably the UK’s fastest-growing specialist tax firm.

We talk about the first business plan, the earliest hires, how Claritas scaled, the challenges of competing without a big brand, and the trust it takes to let go of work in order to grow. 

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP123

The Tax Lab (real scenarios, tackled live:  https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/thetaxlab/

Timings

• (1:00) Intro to Iain, Claritas Tax, and time-based billing story
• (8:00) Iain's options immediately before starting Claritas Tax, back in 2012, and his thought process
• (11:00) The business plan Iain drew up prior to starting Claritas - the plan and vision
• (13:40) The first hire - was it senior or junior?
• (18:02) How did Iain scale the business to 100 employees?
• (22:52) What challenges did the business run into as it started to get bigger (past 11 or so staff)
• (26:29) How Claritas solved the "lack of brand" awareness problem/challenge
• (29:24) The differences between running a small firm and a larger one
• (32:33) What's Iain's role like now?
• (36:03) The importance of trust
• (38:57) Stand out lessons to Iain from his journey - what he wished he knew when he started
• (41:01) What's been the hardest part of the journey for Iain?

The Tax Lab

Sharpen your skills as a tax advisor by seeing exactly how I think and approach real scenarios that we encounter as tax professionals, with The Tax Lab.

The Tax Lab gives you a glimpse inside my mind — my thoughts and my approach — as I tackle real scenarios live, so you can refine your own way of working.

Sessions of The Tax Lab are free to attend. Sign up so I can invite you to all future sessions.

Sign up here

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Want to get better at tax research? In this episode, I share my five-step process to always get to the answer — and show you how it worked in a tricky but real client case so you can start using it yourself.  

Tax Research Masterclass:

Go to thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/trm for details and to enrol.

Show notes:

https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/ttpp122/

Timings

[00:00] Introduction — why tax research feels overwhelming

[00:00:22] My 5-step process in action: real-life client story

[00:07:34] My 5-step tax research process explained

[00:08:31] Deep dive into each of the five steps

[00:10:47] Typical challenges tax professionals face during tax research

[00:13:30] Exercise: try the 5-step process yourself

[00:13:59] How the Tax Research Masterclass would help you

Resources

TTPP60: Improving Your Tax Research Skills - Stories and Tips of 3 Tax Professionals

Croner-I's Online Tax Research Platform: Free Trial

Subscribe

https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe/

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From this episode, learn what a Tax Editor does and hear advice on how to become one. Andrew Rainford – Tax Editor at Lefebvre for over ten years, shares what he enjoys, the challenges, and the different types of tax-editing roles that exist. Take a listen if you’re interested in hearing about different tax roles or have a specific interest in editing. 

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP121

Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

Tax skills courses: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/

Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse

Timings

• Overview of Andrew’s tax career – from auditor to tax editor
• (7:45) What does the role of a Tax Editor look like? What do they do?
• (14:30) Different types of Tax Editor roles - examples 
• (15:30) Story where editing has not gone smoothly
• (21:30) What Andrew enjoys most about being a Tax Editor
• (24:45) What Andrew finds challenging about being a Tax Editor
• (27:30) How Andrew keeps up to date on technical, not being in practice
• (28:30) How Tax Editing Roles can vary (difference between content editor and commissioning editor)
• (31:30) What type of businesses can you work for as a Tax Editor?
• (32:45 ) Andrew's advice if you're interested in becoming a Tax Editor

Resources

Info on training courses for tax professionals/teams, on tax skills and other skills valuable for working in tax

GeniA-L Tax Research Tool – Details and Demo

Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ 

Recommended podcast episodes:

• TTPP113: Exceptional Tax Technical Skills: Key Benefits and Why You Should Develop Yours
• TTPP119: From In-House Tax Apprentice to Manager: How To Succeed with an Unconventional Tax Career with Chloe Radcliffe-Scott
• TTPP118: How She Reinvented Herself, Her Tax Career and Created Amazing Team Culture with Sehjal Gupta [Tax Career Success Secrets Series]

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AI tools for tax research: the role they can play, how to use them well, and the safeguards to avoid getting things wrong and manage risk – this is what’s covered by this episode. AI can help save time, make our lives easier, and make tasks less frustrating as part of the research process. We are joined by Tony Court, who has worked in tax for over 40 years, and who has been testing and helping refine a tax-research AI tool. From his experience, he has learn a few tricks along the way about how to use them better. He shares them in this episode.

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP120

Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse

Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ 

Timings

• Intro to Tony and his tax career
• (8:15) How Tony has been involved in the creation of an AI tool for tax research
• (19:00) The role of AI in tax research and advice for using it well
• (29:15) Precautions and safeguards for using AI in tax research
• (41:00) Can you use general AI tools like Chat GPT in tax research?
• (45:30) Tony’s recommendation on the back of this episode

Resources

Info on training courses for tax professionals/teams, on tax skills and other skills valuable for working in tax

GeniA-L Tax Research Tool – Details and Demo

Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ 

Recommended podcast episodes:

• TTPP119: From In-House Tax Apprentice to Manager: How To Succeed with an Unconventional Tax Career with Chloe Radcliffe-Scott
• TTPP118: How She Reinvented Herself, Her Tax Career and Created Amazing Team Culture with Sehjal Gupta [Tax Career Success Secrets Series]
• TTPP113: Exceptional Tax Technical Skills: Key Benefits and Why You Should Develop Yours