Self-Assessment Tax Answered

How much do I have to earn to declare my income to HMRC?

Good news if you earn £1,000 or less from an income source, not only do you not have to pay income tax on it, you also do not need to declare it to HMRC! If you do earn more although you will have to declare your earning you can still take advantage of the £1,000 allowance.

When do I have to submit my Self-Assessment Tax return by?

The deadline for paper forms is 31 October (or 31 January if you’re a trustee of a registered pension scheme or a non-resident company). However, the deadline for online submissions is the 31 January the following year.

What if I make a mistake on my return?

If after you have filed your tax return you become aware that an entry is incorrect, you can amend that return. You have up to 12 months from 31 January following the end of the tax year to which the tax return relates. E.g. If you filed your 2016/17 Tax return you would have until 31 January 2019 to amend any miscalculations. This applies whether you manually filed a paper version of the return or you filed online.

When do I have to pay my Self-Assessment Tax by?

31 January in the tax year   50% of prior year liability (payment on account)
31 July following the tax year   50% of prior year liability (payment on account)
31 January following the tax year   balance of any tax due (balancing payment)
PLUS first payment on account for next tax year

How do I pay the tax I owe?

  • Online or telephone banking
  • CHAPS
  • By debit or credit card online
  • At your bank or building society – You need a paying-in slip from HMRC to pay at a bank or building society.
  • Bacs
  • Direct Debit
  • By cheque through the post

 

What if I don’t submit my Tax return on time?

HMRC is keen to crack down on people sending their self-assessment returns back late, and have introduced new penalties that mean the longer you delay, the more you’ll have to pay. There is now an automatic penalty of £100 for filing a late return – even if no tax is owed. After three months, a £10 daily charge kicks in up to a maximum of £900, followed by further penalties at six months and 12 months. This means you could owe up to £1,600 in penalties regardless of how much tax you need to pay.

 

5 Tips on filing you own Self-Assessment Tax return.

  • If you see a blank page displayed when trying to view online statements, there is guidance on how to download PDF forms from an online account under ‘News and Updates’ on the HMRC home page.
  • If you have not received any income for a particular field, leave it blank. Figures such as ‘£0’ or ‘£0.00’ will receive an error message.
  • The customer must provide details of their pension provider in a box on the return, which does not accept punctuation or the return key. Customers should press the ‘Ctrl’ key and letter ‘A’ which will highlight the contents of the box, then retype the text and avoid using punctuation or the return key.
  • “Any Other Information” box. These boxes have character limits (including spaces) so if you receive an error message reduce the text and try again.
  • The system does not accept foreign postcodes. This is not a compulsory field and customers should leave blank if they are calling from abroad.

 

 

If Self-Assessment Tax leaves you feeling stressed or if you have any queries, contact LeeP on 01733 699033.

LeeP Accountants

Helping you keep more of your money