Help, accountant being dodgy. My accountant says £32k of expenses is “normal for dentists” — should I be worried?
Accountant wants me to pay 50% of the fee after using estimated expenses I didn’t provide — what should I do?
I’m a self-employed associate dentist and hired an accountant to prepare my 2025/26 Self Assessment.
My income was roughly £80k. I provided them with my actual income and expense information, but they came back with around £32k in expenses. The list includes some really random figures, including around £2,500 for laundry, which I definitely didn’t spend.
I questioned where these figures came from because they are nowhere near the information I provided. They told me they were estimated expenses based on what dentists earning around my income usually have, and that this would help reduce my tax bill.
I asked what would happen if HMRC flagged the return or asked for proof. They said they would be responsible for it, but I’m not comfortable with that because I understand that I’m ultimately responsible for the information submitted on my tax return.
I told them I’m not happy with this approach and that I don’t want to continue with their service. I want to find another accountant who will prepare my return using my actual figures and legitimate expenses.
Now they are demanding 50% of their full fee, saying the tax return is “2 clicks away from being ready”.
I don’t want to pay them anything for a tax return that I don’t agree with and that I’ve told them not to submit.
Do I actually have to pay the 50% fee? Can an accountant charge me for work that I don’t want completed, particularly when I’ve raised concerns about the figures they’ve used?
Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with something similar, especially other self-employed dentists.