You are probably wondering why in August we have chosen to write about Self-Assessment, when the deadline for filing manual tax returns is 31st October 2018 and the deadline for on-line submissions is 31st January 2019.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) notifies individuals who must file a Self-Assessment Tax Return after the end of the tax year. The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April.
We at Rawlinson Pryde write to all clients annually at the end of May. We send a checklist containing details of the income and expense claims for the previous year. This acts as an aid memoir as to the most likely information required.
Self-Assessment Information Required
We leave our reminder until May. This allows for time for forms P60, P11D, Certificates of Interest, Rental statements etc. to arrive. Although P11D’s can be completed by employers up to the 6th July following a tax year.
One must carefully check that whether there are new worldwide sources of income or gains before sending us the information to enable us to prepare your return. Also as a higher or additional rate taxpayer you want to ensure you have provided us with all your reliefs. This may include charitable gift aid donations and pension contributions requiring relief at source.
Self-Assessment Service
We advise you to send this as soon as possible. We pride ourselves in “turning around” your tax return within six weeks. This is important as we like to notify you of any payments due by 31st January a.s.a.p. This also enables us to claim any refunds you are entitled to sooner.
It also gives us the opportunity to plan for future years to mitigate your tax liabilities. We wrote earlier this year about tax savings ideas. Many of these can be used for the current tax year albeit the allowance will be different.
The HMRC website now has a section entitled “information which may help you complete a return”. This is normally in the form of state pensions received, we can use this information to check the details supplied to us.
By law we are not allowed to file a return for a client unless we have been notified of its approval or received a signed Tax Return. We are also required to keep a copy on our files for six years.
So hopefully this will encourage you to let us have your information as soon as possible to enable us to be efficient and provide you a good service and avoid the January panic.
If you wish to speak to a member of our team, please contact us.