Professional services

Professional services firms, whether constituted as partnerships, limited liability partnerships or companies, face a set of tax questions that are distinct to the way they are owned and run. Profit allocation between partners, the most efficient mix of remuneration for owner-principals, the treatment of goodwill, and the capital gains position on a partner's retirement or departure each demand specialist attention, and the rules in this area, from the salaried member tests to the basis period reforms, continue to shift. The firms most exposed are often those advised by generalist practices that are highly capable in their own field but are not themselves specialists in the particular tax issues of professional partnerships. We bring an independent, technical perspective to precisely these questions. Our clients include accountancy practices, bookkeepers and solicitors of every description, from tax and corporate lawyers to those in family, private client and commercial work, and we are equally comfortable advising a firm on its own affairs or standing behind it as expert counsel on a client matter. In each case the aim is the same: clear, reliable advice that lets the firm act with confidence, whether the question concerns its structure, its succession or the position of an individual partner.