How we help our farming clients

At Deeks Evans, we have many clients in the local community and service businesses, small and large, across many sectors including agriculture.

How we help our farming clients

How we help our farming clients

At Deeks Evans, we have many clients in the local community and service businesses, small and large, across many sectors including agriculture.

Farming is an unusual sector in many ways, as there are many variants which come into play – including the weather and the fact that your business is reliant on something which is living. It can make agricultural accounting more complex than other businesses when it comes to assets, liabilities, costs and revenue. On top of this, there are a number of regulations and subsidises to take into account.

Farming is also a capital intensive business, which requires large investment in land, livestock and machinery.

Here at Deeks Evans, we have worked with many farming businesses over the years and can advise you whether you have a small holding or a much bigger venture. We can help you with agricultural and business property reliefs, as well as VAT schemes.

Not only can our experienced team help you on an ongoing basis but our Probate, Wills and Trusts team can provide invaluable help with passing on your farm to the next generation. For example, you can pass on some agricultural property free of Inheritance Tax, either during your lifetime or as part of your Will.

Agricultural property that qualifies for Agricultural Relief is land or pasture that is used to grow crops or to rear animals intensively. It also includes, land such as stud farms for breeding and rearing horses and grazing and farm buildings, farm cottages and farmhouses, among others.

Agricultural Relief is due at 100% if the person who owned the land farmed it themselves; the land was used by someone else on a short-term grazing licence; or it was let on a tenancy that began on or after 1 September 1995.

This is a complex area and it's important that if a farmer makes the decision to diversify and rent out some of their land, that the right licences are in place.

Farming is also an industry which has benefited over the years from government subsidy schemes – which are brought in on a basic level to maintain that the country has food to feed the nation – so any accounting must take these into account.

It is also, more than any other, dependent on weather. Hot weather can be good for some crops, while storms can leave hay rotting. Here it is important to record any losses or crops which have been destroyed, so you aren't taxed on a profit you haven't made.

To find out more, call us on tel: 01892 526417.