As the wintery weather takes grip during a time of year when finances can be stretched , it may seem a cruel fact of life for Self Employed people in the UK that January is the month where income tax needs to be paid and Tax Returns need to submitted to HMRC.
Cruel or not, it’s an unavoidable fact and we believe at ABC that nothing’s as bad as it seems; even for those who may feel under prepared or intimidated.
Until January 31 there is time to get paperwork in order in advance of preparing a Tax Return that HMRC will feel satisfied with.
Company Director Andrew Dean says: “People well integrated into the Self-Assessment system get accustomed to the January deadline but it can take a while. Many people new to self-employment can leave it quite late until they consider how they are going to organise their tax reporting obligations.
“We encourage anyone, no matter what their current state of affairs are, to make an appointment and come down to our office. We try to make things as straightforward as we can so that people can have the confidence that they can get all their accounting and tax affairs up to date and in a format that won’t leave HMRC asking any unwanted questions.”
Over 8 million people in the UK submit Tax Returns each year, mainly to report business from Self Employment. There are a number of other reasons why people are asked by HMRC to complete Returns, including income received for land and property and receipt of dividend and investment income.
Most of the UK tax payers who are part of Self-Assessment manage to file their Returns prior to the deadline of midnight January 31. However, around 7 percent miss the deadline, which results in an automatic £100 fine with the possibility of daily fines accruing if the Return remains late.
A number of Returns are looked into each year, which may be either the result of a random check or because of a discrepancy in some of the information being submitted.
With decades of experience between them, the professionals of ABC know the HMRC system inside out and are well versed in what can trigger investigations and compliance checks.
Be merry and enjoy a wonderful Christmas. For support and advice, contact us in the prosperous New Year!
Many thanks
Sean