TAX DEADLINE LOOMS
If you are one of the 4 million who have not yet filed your self-assessment tax
return, start today. There is an absolute deadline of 31 January to get the form
in or you face an automatic £100 fine. After that there can be further penalties
just for not filing the form regardless of any tax that may be due.
If this is the first time you have had to do it start now there are steps to
take before you can file online. There are more than 100,000 people who get
child benefit and they or their partner has an income above £50,000 who have not
yet filed online which they must do to pay the tax.
You will also have to fill in a self-assessment form if you are self-employed
(even if you are also an employee and do a bit of self-employment on the side),
a minister of religion (of any faith), a company director, have an income of
more than £100,000 in the tax year, have income from savings or investments of
more than £10,000 (or £2,500 if it is untaxed income), have an income of more
than £2,500 from property (but not under the rent a room scheme which is
tax-free up to £4,250 a year). There are other circumstances in which you need
to fill in a return. And if HMRC has sent you a form or told you by email or
letter to file online then you must do so.
Step 1 beware fake websites. If you do a search online you may well find that
the top links are commercial sites that will charge you just for passing the
form on. The correct address for any government service always ends in gov.uk
and this one is at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/file-online.htm.
Step 2 if you havent paid through self-assessment before then you must
register
see
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/register.htm.
Normally
you will then be sent a Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number and an Activation Code
by post. They will take a few days to arrive so do it now!
Step 3 once you have your UTR and Activation Code you can log on to online
filing. The online form asks why you are doing self-assessment and which parts
are relevant and only shows you the questions necessary for your circumstances.
Make sure you have all the information you need to answer them. You can save the
form and return to it later if you need to look something up or work something
out but it is better to have the information ready first. Make sure you get to
the final stage and the form is actually filed. If you have problems or
questions call the self-assessment helpline 0300 200 3310. Charges are the same
as normal 01 and 02 numbers which is some comfort if you are kept hanging on for
a long time.
Step 4 the form will work out the tax due. That should be paid by 31 January.
If you have enough money in your bank account the best way to pay is by direct
transfer. That will happen at once so you can pay on the last day subject to
your banks direct transfer limits and it will still be in time. If you pay
online by debit card or credit card it goes through BillPay and takes three
banking days so do it by 28 January. There is no extra charge for paying by
debit card but if you use a credit card there is a 1.4% surcharge to cover the
costs HMRC pays to your card provider.
Remember: whatever your circumstances if you are due to file a tax return and
have not done it, then do it now or risk a £100 fine on 1 February.
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