Self Assessment Tax Returns

The self-assessment tax return is an annual requirement for people who do not pay their tax automatically through PAYE.

If you are self-employed, a Partner, Director, Landlord, a Trustee or registered with the CIS, you will have to file an annual tax return to HMRC declaring the amount of income you’ve earned. You have to do this by a certain deadline each year otherwise you may face a late submission penalty from HMRC.

When you file your self-assessment tax return, you will need to declare any income that you made in the previous financial year. Each individual will be different, but here are the main documents and records you will need to declare:

• Your P60
• Your P45 (if you left a job that year)
• P11D benefits in kind
• Details of any pay and expenses from an employer
• Details of any bank interest
• Dividends or sale of stocks and shares
• Any capital gains made
• Information on any pension you may have
• Trusts
• Disposals e.g. if you sold a property
• Charitable donations
• Rental Income
• Foreign Income

HMRC give two deadlines to file your tax return:

• 31^st October – paper submission
• 31^st January – online submission

There is an immediate £100 fine payable to HMRC if you submit your tax return late. This becomes a £10 a day fine on top of the £100 if you fail to submit your tax return after three months, which grows to a maximum of £900.

If you haven’t filed your return after 6 and 12 months following the deadline you get an additional £300 fine or 5% of your tax bill (whichever is greater) on top of your previous fine. A full breakdown of penalties can be found on the gov.uk website.

Fines for incorrect tax returns

There are also fines in place for sending an incorrect tax return or a form which contains mistakes. The heaviest penalty is for those who attempt to conceal their income in order to pay less tax.

Click here to find out more.