Everything You Need To Know About Self Assessment Tax Returns

A Self-Assessment tax return is used to declare income tax. Usually this will be deducted automatically from wages and pensions, however individuals and businesses with other sources of income must report via a Self-Assessment. 

Do I Need To Register? 

You’ll need to submit a self-assessment tax return if –

• You’re self-employed as a ‘sole trader’ and earn over £1,000 before removing tax relief 
• You have a total taxable income of over £150,000
• You’re a partner in a business partnership 
• You had to pay Capital Gains Tax when you sold or disposed of something that increased in value
• You had to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge 
• You have untaxed income from renting out a property, tips or commission, savings, investments and dividends or foreign income 

If you’re still unsure, you can check if you need to submit a tax return here. 

How To Register for a Self-Assessment Tax Return

If you’re new to Self Assessment, you’ll have to keep records so that you can fill out your tax return correctly, which is where proper bookkeeping comes in handy. 

You’ll need to sign in using your Government Gateway account to receive your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). Once this step is complete, you’ll be sent a code to activate your account. You can then file your tax return online via the HMRC website.. 

Before filing your tax return, make sure you have the following to hand – 

• Ten digit UTR number
• National Insurance number 
• Details of untaxed income from the past tax year
• Self-employment expenses
• Contributions to charity or pensions that may be eligible for tax relief
• Records (such as a P60) detailing how much income you have received that you’ve already paid tax on 

The Key Deadlines 

• The last tax year began on April 6th 2023 and ended on April 5th 2024. 
• You must notify HMRC by October 5th if you need to complete a tax return and have not done so before, which you can do by registering for a Self-Assessment. 
• The deadline for submitting an online tax return is January 31st 2025. However, there is usually a second payment deadline of July 31st should you need to make advance payments towards your bill. 

If you miss the deadline, you’ll have to pay a late filing penalty of £100 up to three months. However, if it’s any later than this you’ll be charged more, as well as interest on late payments. 

Get Help With Your Self-Assessment 

Completing your own self-assessment can be tricky. You need to be familiar with the tax regulations and understand what counts as allowable income and expenditure. That’s where we come in, we can handle all of that for you, plus we always go the extra mile in analysing your assessment to maximise savings wherever possible. Click here to get help today.