It’s that time of year again - the deadline for submitting and paying self return tax returns is upon us.
If for whatever reason you haven’t managed to complete yours, don’t panic. But do get your ducks in order. You have just 10 days to go.
Do I need to fill in a tax return?
More than 10 million people in the UK need to complete a tax return. Find out if you’re one of them by taking the HMRC’s online test.
In short, everyone who is self-employed needs to fill in a tax return.
You’re probably self-employed if you:
• run your business for yourself and take responsibility for its success or failure
• have several customers at the same time
• can decide how, where and when you do your work
• can hire other people at your own expense to help you or to do the work for you
• provide the main items of equipment to do your work
• are responsible for finishing any unsatisfactory work in your own time
• charge an agreed fixed price for your work
• sell goods or services to make a profit
Many of these also apply if you own a limited company but you’re not classed as self-employed by HMRC. Instead you’re both an owner and employee of your company.
You can also be both employed and self-employed at the same time, for example if you work for an employer during the day and run your own business in the evenings.
How to do it
Before you fill in your tax return make sure you have the information that you’ll need. This could include:
• The P60 (or P45 if you left your job) you received from your employer will show your pay (or pension) and tax details
• Your business income and costs if you are self employed
• Statements from financial institutions will show investment income received and any tax deducted.
You can fill in your tax return on paper or online.
If you are a new online user, you will need to register first. Go to online.hmrc.gov.uk/registration and follow the instructions to enroll for online services.
Make a note of the User ID that is allocated to you. You will then receive your activation code through the post. Please follow the instructions provided to activate your online account as soon as possible.
Need some help?
Here at KBL we complete tax returns for hundreds of our clients. We work with them to meet tight deadlines and keep their paperwork in order.
If you have left things a bit late this year and need a helping hand, give us a call.