The Tax Professionals Podcast

Jack Bonehill

This podcast helps tax professionals, typically by helping you become a better tax professional, helping you pass the ATT and CTA exams, or helping you decide what you want to do with your tax career.Episodes are released bi-weekly, released on Mondays, and include a mix of solo and guest episodes.Jack Bonehill, CTA, hosts the podcast. He's an employment tax specialist, working in the area since 2015, and won Tolley's Taxation's Rising Star award in 2023.   Website: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/    Subscribe: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe/    Tax Skills Masterclasses: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ Sub Series: Tax Career Success Secrets, sharing the secrets behind tax-career success, and Tax Role Insights, giving you an insider's view into the different available tax roles.

  1. 4D AGO

    TTPP127: Free Tax Advice Issue in Accountancy Firms: Getting a Fee or Other Recognition with Head of Tax David Maslen

    Send us a text In accountancy firms, tax teams can easily give away advice for free, often with no recognition, to clients of the wider firm. This can cause friction and can be difficult to manage. In this episode, host Jack Bonehill is joined by David Maslen, Head of Tax at Old Mill, to discuss why this happens and to share practical insights to help you obtain a fee or other recognition for your tax team’s valuable work.  Links Episode show notes The Tax Lab: free webinars to improve your tax skills. Real scenarios, tackled live. Includes past recordings. Timings [00:01:45]Intro to David[00:05:04] Introducing the topic for the episode (how to charge firm's clients for tax advice/do for free expectation)[00:07:07] What David thinks cause/underpins the "billing for tax work issues" in accountancy firms[00:09:47] Wanting to help and not wanting to talk about fees[00:13:21] Potential solution: clarify what is and isn't covered by annual fees or fees for non tax work[00:14:53] The impact of "who holds the client relationship"[00:16:24] Non-tax specialists quoting for the tax work[00:17:06] Pushback on fees is more from colleagues than the client[00:19:35] How Jack tries to solve the problem[00:22:36] Relationships with your colleagues and how that helps[00:27:01] Colleagues trusting you and feeling reassured[00:31:23] Jack's summary of David's way of dealing with the issue and Jack's own tip[00:31:45] How a tax team framework could help[00:34:00] The value of a tax team to a firm outside of billing/fees[00:38:01] How David ensures recognition where tax can't bill for the work[00:43:11] David's final advice on the challenge

    46 min
  2. 10/12/2025

    TTPP124: Two Questions That Make Your Tax Advice Instantly Better in Your Clients' Eyes

    Send us a text You might be giving technically perfect tax advice — but if it’s too long or too complicated, it won’t land well with clients. In this episode, Jack Bonehill shares a real story where two simple questions helped turn a colleague’s advice from technical to client-friendly. You can use these questions to instantly make your advice clearer, shorter, and more valuable from a client’s perspective. If you want to deliver better advice that clients truly value — this episode is for you. Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP124 The Tax Lab (real scenarios, tackled live:  https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/thetaxlab/ Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ Timings [00:00:25] Story: reviewing a colleague’s draft of tax advice and simplifying it with two simple questions[00:02:13] Example: how we tend to overcomplicate advice with unnecessary detail[00:03:34] Why cutting complexity throughout a report makes advice stronger overall[00:04:38] How to make your advice more client-friendly[00:06:22] A two-step method — draft first, refine later using the two key questions[00:07:41] Exercise: how to apply the two questions in your next piece of advice[00:09:29] Upcoming sessions and future topics in The Tax LabThe Tax Lab Sharpen your skills as a tax advisor by seeing exactly how I think and approach real scenarios that we encounter as tax professionals, with The Tax Lab. The Tax Lab gives you a glimpse inside my mind — my thoughts and my approach — as I tackle real scenarios live, so you can refine your own way of working. Sessions of The Tax Lab are free to attend. Sign up so I can invite you to all future sessions. Sign up here

    10 min
  3. 10/05/2025

    TTPP123: Scaling Claritas Tax From 0 to 100 People: The Story by Founder Iain Wright

    Send us a text Claritas Tax started in 2012 as a one-person venture. Today, it’s a 100-strong firm with eight offices across the UK. In this episode, Iain Wright, founder of Claritas, shares the journey from leaving a safe career path to building arguably the UK’s fastest-growing specialist tax firm. We talk about the first business plan, the earliest hires, how Claritas scaled, the challenges of competing without a big brand, and the trust it takes to let go of work in order to grow.  Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP123 The Tax Lab (real scenarios, tackled live:  https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/thetaxlab/ Timings (1:00) Intro to Iain, Claritas Tax, and time-based billing story(8:00) Iain's options immediately before starting Claritas Tax, back in 2012, and his thought process(11:00) The business plan Iain drew up prior to starting Claritas - the plan and vision(13:40) The first hire - was it senior or junior?(18:02) How did Iain scale the business to 100 employees?(22:52) What challenges did the business run into as it started to get bigger (past 11 or so staff)(26:29) How Claritas solved the "lack of brand" awareness problem/challenge(29:24) The differences between running a small firm and a larger one(32:33) What's Iain's role like now?(36:03) The importance of trust(38:57) Stand out lessons to Iain from his journey - what he wished he knew when he started(41:01) What's been the hardest part of the journey for Iain?The Tax Lab Sharpen your skills as a tax advisor by seeing exactly how I think and approach real scenarios that we encounter as tax professionals, with The Tax Lab. The Tax Lab gives you a glimpse inside my mind — my thoughts and my approach — as I tackle real scenarios live, so you can refine your own way of working. Sessions of The Tax Lab are free to attend. Sign up so I can invite you to all future sessions. Sign up here

    47 min
  4. 08/31/2025

    TTPP121: Being a Tax Editor: What It's Like and Advice to Become One with Andrew Rainford

    Send us a text From this episode, learn what a Tax Editor does and hear advice on how to become one. Andrew Rainford – Tax Editor at Lefebvre for over ten years, shares what he enjoys, the challenges, and the different types of tax-editing roles that exist. Take a listen if you’re interested in hearing about different tax roles or have a specific interest in editing.  Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP121 Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe Tax skills courses: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse   Timings Overview of Andrew’s tax career – from auditor to tax editor(7:45) What does the role of a Tax Editor look like? What do they do?(14:30) Different types of Tax Editor roles - examples (15:30) Story where editing has not gone smoothly(21:30) What Andrew enjoys most about being a Tax Editor(24:45) What Andrew finds challenging about being a Tax Editor(27:30) How Andrew keeps up to date on technical, not being in practice(28:30) How Tax Editing Roles can vary (difference between content editor and commissioning editor)(31:30) What type of businesses can you work for as a Tax Editor?(32:45 ) Andrew's advice if you're interested in becoming a Tax EditorResources Info on training courses for tax professionals/teams, on tax skills and other skills valuable for working in tax GeniA-L Tax Research Tool – Details and Demo Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/  Recommended podcast episodes: TTPP113: Exceptional Tax Technical Skills: Key Benefits and Why You Should Develop YoursTTPP119: From In-House Tax Apprentice to Manager: How To Succeed with an Unconventional Tax Career with Chloe Radcliffe-ScottTTPP118: How She Reinvented Herself, Her Tax Career and Created Amazing Team Culture with Sehjal Gupta [Tax Career Success Secrets Series]

    42 min
  5. 05/25/2025

    TTPP120: Using AI in Tax Research: How to Use Effectively, Benefits and Safeguards with Tony Court

    Send us a text AI tools for tax research: the role they can play, how to use them well, and the safeguards to avoid getting things wrong and manage risk – this is what’s covered by this episode. AI can help save time, make our lives easier, and make tasks less frustrating as part of the research process. We are joined by Tony Court, who has worked in tax for over 40 years, and who has been testing and helping refine a tax-research AI tool. From his experience, he has learn a few tricks along the way about how to use them better. He shares them in this episode. Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP120 Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/  Timings Intro to Tony and his tax career(8:15) How Tony has been involved in the creation of an AI tool for tax research(19:00) The role of AI in tax research and advice for using it well(29:15) Precautions and safeguards for using AI in tax research(41:00) Can you use general AI tools like Chat GPT in tax research?(45:30) Tony’s recommendation on the back of this episodeResources Info on training courses for tax professionals/teams, on tax skills and other skills valuable for working in tax GeniA-L Tax Research Tool – Details and Demo Masterclasses for tax professionals: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/  Recommended podcast episodes: TTPP119: From In-House Tax Apprentice to Manager: How To Succeed with an Unconventional Tax Career with Chloe Radcliffe-ScottTTPP118: How She Reinvented Herself, Her Tax Career and Created Amazing Team Culture with Sehjal Gupta [Tax Career Success Secrets Series]TTPP113: Exceptional Tax Technical Skills: Key Benefits and Why You Should Develop Yours

    54 min

About

This podcast helps tax professionals, typically by helping you become a better tax professional, helping you pass the ATT and CTA exams, or helping you decide what you want to do with your tax career.Episodes are released bi-weekly, released on Mondays, and include a mix of solo and guest episodes.Jack Bonehill, CTA, hosts the podcast. He's an employment tax specialist, working in the area since 2015, and won Tolley's Taxation's Rising Star award in 2023.   Website: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/    Subscribe: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe/    Tax Skills Masterclasses: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/ Sub Series: Tax Career Success Secrets, sharing the secrets behind tax-career success, and Tax Role Insights, giving you an insider's view into the different available tax roles.

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