TAX REFUNDS FOR ACADEMICS
Evelyn: University Lecturer & Academic Writer
Evelyn, a university senior lecturer, wrote articles and books on her area of expertise. She received no income from the articles, and the books — though boasting a list price of between £80 to £95 — generated income for her of just over £1,000, which she recorded on her tax return as taxable royalty income. I changed that. I registered her as a self-employed writer and over two years claimed all her related expenditure — use of home, books & journals, telephone & mobile, broadband & wifi, courses & conferences, overdraft & credit card interest, professional fees, travel & subsistence, stationery & printing, car petrol & maintenance, together with capital assets like her personal desk, laptop, ipad and a proportion of her motor vehicle — as a write-off against her trading income (royalties). This generated a trading loss which I offset against her earned PAYE income as a lecturer, generating a net tax repayment (after fees) of over £4,000.
Saul: Doctor and Textbook Writer
Saul, a doctor employed by the NHS, asked me why HMRC would not allow as a deduction against his employment income all the subscription costs he paid during the year. I explained that HMRC work to an “Approved List“ and clearly some of the organisations of which he was a member didn’t make the cut. I explained, however, that all of his subscriptions would be deductible if he was a self-employed writer alongside his NHS employment (because the legislative test for such deductions were more generous for the self-employed). I knew Saul was co-authoring a book, together with a colleague, on the immediate psychological and physiological responses to severe physical injury (medical trauma). I registered him as a self-employed writer and claimed, as allowable deductions, all related expenses, generating a loss and leading to a tax repayment. Interestingly, Saul’s book became a leading medical textbook and required reading for medical students throughout the English-speaking world, so HMRC enjoyed its bounty in the end. But still, Saul received his tax repayment when he needed it most.
Your Details
© 2023 Dr Trevor Thomas. All rights reserved
Welcome professors, lecturers and teachers
First, a thank you.
Through your academic writing you have increased the wealth of human knowledge.
Based on your writing — past, present and future — and supported by my small team of all the talents — I will secure for you a tax refund.
Moreover, I charge no upfront fees
And I work on a “no refund, no fee” basis
If I do not secure a refund you pay nothing.
As an academic you are woefully under remunerated — you know that — but I can ensure the government returns some of the tax you have paid.
A minimum net tax repayment (after fees) would be about £1,000 in your hand.
But yours could be many times that (it all depends on your personal circumstances)
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To get started, book your personal telephone call with Dr Trevor Thomas
You may have other questions you need answering before pressing the button, such as:
How is a tax repayment generated?
What About Fees?
Who is Dr Trevor Thomas and what is his experience and expertise?
Trevor tells the story himself. “It became increasingly apparent to myself, friends, and colleagues that, in order to progress in academia, it was necessary to publish academic articles and books. However, there was no commensurate remuneration for this additional scholarship. It occurred to me that the academic was really engaged in two separate exercises. One was teaching and examining — employment — and the other was writing — self-employment.
“That is, from your perspective, you’re writing as a business. You are a self-employed writer (alongside your academic employment). That you may not be making much money from writing is irrelevant. That your expenditure may exceed your income doesn’t matter. Your writing is a very serious endeavour. It is not a hobby. You are writing in anticipation of making money now or in the future. That is, in legal terminology, you are trading with a view to profit.
“The tax legislation has specific provisions to assist new or struggling businesses that are trading with a view to profit. It allows losses to be offset against income from other sources. When those losses are set off against earned income — say, employment income which has been subject to tax at source under PAYE — a tax repayment is generated.”
Well, we’re totally transparent. There are no upfront fees, no instalment payments. Our fees are 29% of the refund generated, paid when the funds are received. No add-on, no premiums, no disbursement: a flat 29% of the refund, with the balance being transferred to you by bank transfer.
Dr Trevor Thomas is an international tax consultant by profession. He graduated with anHonours Degree in Law from Warwick University in 1979, where he was president of the Student Law Society. Thereafter, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co and specialized in taxation with Deloitte Touche. He set up his own firm T L Thomas & Co, Chartered Accountants, in Greenwich, London in 1988, which became a Tax Consultancy in 1995. Dr Thomas holds a Master Degree in Comparative Business Law and a PhD in Revenue Law. His doctoral thesis was on offshore tax planning for Sportspeople and Entertainers.
Throughout the 1990’s Trevor wrote a large number of technical articles on taxation for academic and professional journals, as well as a book, Offshore Companies and Trusts in UK Tax Planning in 1995. He was also invited by the Financial Times to contribute to the football bungs debate resulting in his opinion piece Tax Deals Not All Offside in which he argued that footballers, like any other British taxpayer, have the right to minimize their exposure to taxation through the use of legitimate tax avoidance schemes.
Trevor has lectured widely in both an academic and professional capacity. He has held weekly tutorials for AAT and ACCA students. He was a regular lecturer for Barclays Bank at seminars on business start-ups. He also served as a University External Examiner for degrees in finance, accountancy, taxation and business administration.
More recently, Trevor has worked as a tax specialist securing tax refunds for subcontractors in the construction industry under the Construction Industry Scheme. He secured over £10 million in repayments over a three year period.
Today his principal focus is on securing tax refunds for his much neglected fellow academics.
Not ready yet? Here are some of Trevor’s Case Studies
Makena: Head Teacher and Social Entrepreneur
Makena, an Assistant Head Teacher at a London Secondary school, took a sabbatical to create and deliver a series of literacy based singing and songwriting workshops for after-school drama clubs. Though she sought grant-based public funding, Makena ended up financing much of the project herself. Her plan was that her work would make a lasting contribution to addressing the needs of SEN pupils, particularly those in the black and ethnic minority communities. However, the project needed to be financially successful in order to provide the resources for ongoing reinvestment, expansion and up-scaling. This served as a sufficient basis for HMRC to accept that she was trading with a view to profit, and her substantial first year losses were successfully carried back and offset against her PAYE salaried income as a teacher for the earlier years, thereby generating a sizeable refund of tax.
Frank: Teacher & Impresario
A teacher, Frank, financed his wife’s production of a play she had written. The play was performed and enjoyed a brief tour of community theatres. The play was a critical success but not a commercial one. Frank lost his investment. Prior to the tour, on my advice, Frank registered with HMRC as a theatre impresario in partnership with his wife. The profit share (and, consequently, the loss share) was 90%:10%, respectively, reflecting the ratio of their financial risk. Thankfully, Frank was able to offset (through a carryback relief provision) 90% of the theatre's trading losses against his income as a teacher. The resulting tax repayment eased much of his financial burden. The partnership dissolved when the tour concluded.