Help and FAQs
We have tried to answer some of the most common questions you may have in the following sections. Please read through to see if your question is answered before contacting us.
- Tax guides
- Tax questions
- About Taxcafe UK Ltd
- Ordering from us
- Delivery
- Privacy & Security
- Other Questions...
- Are they up to date?
Yes, at Taxcafe we are committed to providing you with only the very latest most up-to-date tax information. You will receive the very latest edition of our tax guides which contain all the latest 2009 Budget tax changes.
- Are they easy to read?
We pride ourselves on publishing plain English tax guides which contain dozens of easy to follow examples. You will see dozens of testimonials on the site.
- Will they help me save tax?
All of our tax guides are littered with tax planning tips to help you legally reduce your tax bill. Naturally we can never guarantee to save you tax as everyone's situation is different. (Always steer clear of any tax adviser who guarantees to save you tax!) We do, however, go to great lengths to provide details of every conceivable tax saving opportunity.
- How long are they?
Most of our guides are well over 100 pages in length, some are over 300 pages long.
- Who writes them?
All of our tax guides are written by chartered accountants and other suitably qualified experts. Our editor, Carl Bayley, is a council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
- Are the printed tax guides proper books?
Absolutely. All of our tax guides are printed and bound by Lightning Source, a professional book printer in Milton Keynes.
- What if I'm not happy with my guide?
We'll refund it, no questions asked.
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Tax Question & Answer Service
- How confidential is my information?
We take confidentiality very seriously. Your question will be sent direct to Nick Braun, the Managing Director of Taxcafe UK Ltd. He will then forward it to the most suitable tax expert to handle your query. Your question will not be passed on to any other persons.
- How long will it take to receive my answer?
If you use the Standard service you will receive a written answer by email within 3-5 days, although often sooner. We also have an Express service if you need an answer on the same day.
- Who will answer my question?
All tax questions are answered by chartered accountants who are full-time tax professionals. Click here to meet our team of experts.
- Is this an annual subscription?
No, you are paying for a one-off piece of tax advice. We're happy to handle long and complicated questions, with the cost being far lower than that of hiring a tax professional through traditional channels.
- What if I want further advice?
We offer a follow up tax advice service for just £49.95.
- Do I have to submit my question online?
No. You can post it along with a cheque. Click here to pay by cheque.
Alternatively you can call us on 0845 111 0743 to pay by telephone.
- Do you handle tax questions by telephone?
Sorry, we only answer written tax questions.
- Do you do tax consultations?
Taxcafe is a publishing company first and foremost. We pride ourselves on selling affordable tax advice guides rather than expensive tax consultations. Although we have a tax question service for people with specific problems we do not offer any other form of consultancy.
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About Taxcafe UK Ltd
How long has Taxcafe been around?
Taxcafe.co.uk was launched in 1999 by Nick Braun and Aileen Smith. Their aim has always been to produce affordable and easily digestible tax information for investors, business owners, IFAs and indeed accountants.
Nick has been in tax publishing since 1989 and Aileen is an experienced web developer.
The Taxcafe head office is based in the seaside town of Kirkcaldy, just North of Edinburgh. Our offices have stunning sea views, making it the ideal place to run an internet company!
Our editor Carl Bayley is based in Edinburgh and our other writers and experts are based in Manchester, Berkshire and Aberdeen.
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- How do I order from your website?
Ordering from our website is quick and easy. Simply browse the products using the buttons at the top of every page. You can then add items to your shopping cart using the buttons at the bottom of the product pages. When you're ready to pay, press the "View Cart & Checkout" button, which is located at the top right of every page. You can then review the items in your shopping cart and click "Pay Now" to be taken to WorldPay's secure server.
- Do I need to register to order?
No. We try to make your shopping experience as simple and quick as possible, so we don't ask for pages of unnecessary information.
- Using the shopping cart
Taxcafe's unique shopping cart is easy and quick to use. It uses session cookies to store the products you are purchasing as you move from page to page. Session cookies are not stored on your computer and are deleted when you close your browser.
If you are having difficulty adding items to your shopping cart, you may need to adjust your browser settings to allow session cookies.
- What payment methods do you accept?
You can pay for the products on this site a number of ways. You can pay:
- Online - We use Worldpay Plc, the UK's leading online payment company to process our online transactions. WorldPay accepts: Switch, Mastercard, Visa, Visa Delta, Visa Electron, Visa Purchasing, JCB and Solo.
- We also accept PayPal - the safe and easy way to make online payments.
- By Cheque - We are happy to accept cheque payment for any product on our site. Simply click the "Pay by Cheque" button at the bottom of every product page. You can then fill out the form, print it and send it along with your cheque.
- By Phone - If you would prefer to place your order over the phone, call our order hotline on: 0845 111 0743. The hotline is open Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.
- How much do you charge for delivery?
We charge just £1.95 for postage and packaging if your order contains printed books and/or CD-ROMs. This price stays the same no matter how many items you add to your shopping cart.
- When will my order arrive?
If you order electronic guides, they will be sent immediately to your e-mail address.
All of our printed products are sent first class, so your products should arrive within one or two working days.
- Can I specify a different delivery address from my billing address?
Unfortunately, no. For security reasons, we can only deliver to the cardholders address.
- Can I change the delivery address once I have placed my order?
Orders are processed almost immediately to ensure the fast delivery of your products. This makes changing the delivery address difficult. If you think you may have entered an incorrect delivery address, contact us and we will do anything we can to help.
- Do you pass my details on to third parties?
No. We are committed to protecting your privacy so will never pass on or sell our customers details.
- Is it safe to pay online?
We use Worldpay Plc, the UK's leading online payment company to process our online transactions. WorldPay is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group and uses a combination of both established and innovative techniques to ensure the security and integrity of all sensitive data.
Worldpay never divulges your credit card information to anyone, including Taxcafe, so you can rest assured that your billing details are safe.
- Do you store my credit card details?
Absolutely not. In fact if you place an order online we never receive your credit card details because payments are taken independently by Worldpay plc (part of the Royal Bank of Scotland/Natwest group).
- I want to find out more
Click here to read more about Privacy and Security.
- What are electronic guides?
With the purchase of a printed book you will have the option of getting a free electronic copy. The electronic guides are e-mailed to you immediately after purchase as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. These files can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (www.adobe.com) or by clicking here. To find out more about PDFs click here.
