Intro – Self Assessment help Gravesend
A self-assessment tax return is a form that you need to fill out if you want to pay income tax, capital gains tax or corporation tax. In this article, we’ll answer all of your questions about filing a self-assessment tax return and how it works in the UK. If you need help today with filing your tax return, then get in touch with King and Taylor, we are charted accountants based in Gravesend with over 150 years in business we know all about HMRC and filing tax returns! Contact us now.
What is a self assessment tax return?
A self-assessment tax return is a form that you fill in and send to HMRC. The self-assessment tax return is used to report your income, calculate your tax and pay your tax.
If you’re self-employed or a company director, you have to fill in a Self Assessment tax return every year.
The tax return will ask how much money you earned during the year, and what you spent it on. HMRC will then use this information to work out how much tax you should have paid.
Who needs to fill in a self-assessment tax return?
You need to file a tax return if you are any of the following:
- Self-employed.
- A director of a company.
- Have rental income. This can include your home and other properties you let as well as letting out rooms within your own home (but not if you’re a lodger who pays rent to the homeowner). You may also have to pay tax on your profits from letting out holiday homes or caravans if they aren’t part of the lettings business itself.
- Have income from savings, shares or investments that are not taxed through an ISA or SIPP wrapper, such as stocks and shares held outside of these wrappers, unit trusts and open-ended investment companies that aren’t run by banks or building societies. These include overseas property investments (including UK residential property).
Have an annual income of £10,000 or more from savings, shares or investments. Have income from abroad. This can include rental income paid abroad. You may also need to fill in a tax return if you live outside the UK but work here and pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs), for example, if you’re a member of the armed forces based in Great Britain and pay Class 1 NICs under section 8 of the Social Security (Categorisation of Earners) Regulations
How can you submit your return? | Tax returns Kent
To submit your return, you can use one of the following methods:
- Online. You can submit your self assessment tax return online using HMRC’s online service. If you want to pay in instalments, use this method. You can also register for the service if you haven’t done so already.
- Paper form. If you prefer to fill out a paper form and post it yourself, download our self assessment tax return PDF (PDF). This document includes full instructions on how to complete each section of your return form – see ‘How do I complete my self assessment tax return?’ above for more information on completing each part of your submission. It is important that all sections are completed correctly as HMRC will reject any incomplete submissions or those with mistakes made in them – meaning that if this happens we won’t be able to process your claim until those sections have been completed satisfactorily
By phone. If you have been sent an invitation to register for our self assessment tax return service, but you don’t want to use the online method, you can call us on the number below and we will be happy to help. By post. Alternatively, send your completed submission by post to: HM Revenue & Customs Self Assessment PO Box 2000 LIVERPOOL L75 1WX.
How much time do I have to submit my return?
There is a deadline to submit your return or you may face a fine. You must submit your return by 31st January, if you are filing online, by post or via phone.
You can also submit it by email – but only if:
- You have received an error message from HMRC saying that you need to provide more information about your tax affairs – for example because you’ve missed one of their letters; or
- You have been told that your identity needs to be checked before they can accept your tax return.
What is a UTR number?
A UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) number is a unique number used to identify you and your business, as well as all their transactions with HMRC. You can find it on your tax notice or by logging in to GOV.UK to see your National Insurance number.
Each year, when you start a new job or set up a business, you’ll be given one of these numbers by the person responsible for paying your wages or making payments on your behalf (such as an employer). This means that they will know who they’re paying and keep track of any payments that go through them – so if there’s ever any question about whether money should have been paid out or not, it can be traced back quickly using this database.
If at some point during the year you have any dealings with HMRC (for example when filing self assessment), then this number will also be used so that everything matches up correctly between them and whoever made those payments originally – which again makes life easier for both sides!
How to find your UTR number if you don’t have one?
If you have not received a UTR number, contact HMRC.
You can find your UTR by looking at your last tax return, or any of the following documents:
- P45 (if you are being paid wages)
- P60 (if you are self-employed)
- P11D (if you are receiving pension income)
What are some of the common mistakes made when filing self-assessment tax returns in the UK?
Self-assessment tax returns are often difficult to file. There are many rules and regulations that need to be followed when completing a self-assessment tax return in the UK.
* Some common mistakes made when filing self-assessment tax returns in the UK are: • Incorrectly reporting income or expenses • Not reporting all of your income and expenses • Claiming wrong amounts on deductions or credits
Conclusion
We hope this article was helpful in your quest to file your UK self-assessment tax return. If you have any other questions, please contact our team at any time. We have a range of services at King and Talyor, including year-end accounts, tax returns, VAT Returns & Bookkeeping, Payroll and more. Read more about our services here. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
