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Are you completing your Self Assessment correctly?

Your main priority is likely to get your Self-Assessment submitted on time, but are you completing it correctly? FBTC have compiled an overview of tips for you to think about when preparing and filing your tax return.

A key element of your tax return is your income. Are you including it all?

You will have been required by HMRC to complete the tax return because you are self employed. However, once asked to complete a tax return, you have to include all sources of income. So don’t forget bank or building society interest, PAYE income and rental property income. And this is income received during the whole of the tax year. If this is the first year that you began self employment some people mistakenly think you only include income received after the self employment started. Consider all expenses that you are trying to claim for to ensure they are definitely allowable for tax purposes. Getting your income and expenses correct is important so as to reduce the chances of an HMRC enquiry/investigation.

It isn’t just about what you include it is about how and where you include it. From year to year you might miss classify your expenses, recording transactions under different categories. It’s best to be consistent.

Don’t rush to complete your return, there is a chance that you may transpose figures or add them up incorrectly, which will lead to the wrong calculations. This might mean you pay more tax than you need to and nobody wants to do this.

Deadlines are suddenly on top of us even though we know exactly when they are. Preparation is key to ensuring accuracy and filing on time to avoid the £100 late penalty charge. It is much better to know what your tax liability is in advance rather than filing it on the deadline and then not been able to pay your bill. If you were unable to pay your tax liabilities, you will start to receive late payment interest from 1^st February and further delays in payment could lead to surcharges based on a percentage of the outstanding balance.

HMRC state ‘tax doesn’t need to be taxing’, this is correct it doesn’t need to be and having a professional acting for you can be beneficial. This is not only to ensure you are compliant with HMRC regulations, but a good accountant will also save you money.