Accountant fees
Why Does My Accountant Charge for Previous Months When I Joined Mid-Year?
Written by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT · Chartered Accountant · Last reviewed 22 October 2026
How it works
A tax return covers a full period. If you join us in October, the transactions from April to September still need to be categorised, reconciled and checked before we can file anything.
Our monthly fee is the annual cost of the work spread into equal payments. Joining part-way through does not reduce the work due by the deadline, so the earlier months are covered either as a one-off catch-up amount or spread across the remaining months.
Any catch-up amount is shown in your quote and engagement letter before you sign. We do not charge for work outside the period we are filing.
Why the work cannot start from the day you join
HMRC does not accept a part-year return for a trade that ran all year. Your income, expenses, payments on account and any VAT position all depend on the full period, so the opening months have to be checked like any other month.
Bank statements, platform reports and receipts from those earlier months are usually the least organised, because nobody was looking after them. That is why catch-up work can take longer per month than ongoing bookkeeping.
Spreading the earlier months across your remaining payments keeps monthly costs smoother; paying them as a one-off clears them quickly. Either way, you see the amount before signing, so there is nothing unexpected later.
According to Waqas Sagar, Chartered Accountant at influencers.accountants, the earlier in the tax year you join, the smaller any catch-up is and the more planning we can do before the year ends.
Example
Leo, a YouTuber, joins in month 7 of the tax year. His return still needs all 12 months of AdSense, brand deals and expenses. His quote shows the work for months 1–6 as a catch-up amount, so the full return can be completed and filed on time.
Illustrative figures only, based on 2026/27 rules.
What you need to do
- Ask for the catch-up amount in writing before you sign.
- Send bank statements and platform reports from the start of the period.
- Choose a one-off catch-up payment or spreading it, where offered.
- Keep records monthly from now on to avoid future catch-ups.
Want us to handle this for you? Our fixed-fee package is quoted in writing before any work starts. See also our bookkeeping for creators and our page for accountants for content creators.
What's included
- Review and categorising of every transaction in the period
- Bank and platform reconciliation
- Your full-period return or accounts
What's not included
- Periods we are not filing
- Earlier unfiled years (quoted separately)
No hidden fees: anything outside your agreed scope is quoted in writing before we start.
Common mistakes
- 1Assuming the first return only covers the months since joining.
- 2Sending only recent statements, which delays filing.
- 3Switching accountant near the deadline, when catch-up work is most urgent.
From our client work: We often see creators surprised by catch-up work because a previous provider never explained that a return covers the full year.
Frequently asked questions
Related questions
Official sources
Not sure where you stand?
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This is general guidance for UK tax residents for the 2026/27 tax year, not personal advice. Speak to us about your situation.
