How do I?

In this series of articles we will look at a number of common questions that are posed on Google and also asked directly to us as accountants.

How do I – File my own tax return?

The Self Assessment tax return can filed in two ways, as a paper return up the 30^th September of each year and after that date online before the filing deadline of 31^st January.

All Self Assessment tax returns cover the tax year from 6^th April to 5^th April of the following year and must include all your income from all sources, whether that income has already been taxed (in the case of employment income).

If you think of the Self Assessment tax return as a compilation exercise then you are on the right lines.

The return itself is broken into a number of sections.  The first section deals with elements such as pensions, interest received, benefits received and a range of personal details.  All the information needed to complete these should be known to you or easily accessed from places such as banks and pension providers who will provide annual statements that tie into the tax return period.

The secondary sections relate to your personal circumstances and in many cases a sound understanding of taxation is needed to get it right.  The most common sections are;

• Employment
• Self employment
• Property
• Capital Gain

In the case of both self employment and property, accounts are normally produced so that the figures from the accounts can be transferred onto the Self Assessment tax return, but it’s worth point out that not all the figures included in the accounts are tax allowable (such as depreciation) or require a private usage restriction (such as motor expenses or telephone) or are subject to specific legislation which sets out their treatment (such as mortgage interest).

Capital gains tax requires computations to be prepared which require care as there are a range of specific rules, allowances and elections to be made so these can be reported correctly.

If filing your Self Assessment tax return online, you will first need to set up a Government Gateway to be able to access the service.  In itself, not a difficult process but there are a number of steps to go through and there is a waiting period as an access code is sent via the post for security purposes.  So if you are going to do this, don’t leave it too long or you may be too late.

As accountants who are highly experienced in this area we can prepare the Self Assessment tax return on your behalf and ensure it is complete, compliant and all the reliefs, allowances and exemptions have been claimed to give you the best possible result.

For further details please contact us on 01302 752700 or via info@enterpriseaccountancy.co.uk