Tax Return Deadline
Are you stressing about the tax return deadline? These four tips could make things easier for you.
New year, new me. New year’s resolutions are how we try to change for the better, so our year doesn’t seem so bleak. Resolutions like, to lose weight, live life to the fullest, be more organised…making sure you do your tax returns early (Hint Hint). Shohaib Shafiq, principal accountant at Integrity Accountancy Services Limited says, “The people who leave it to last minute usually end up missing things, getting calculations wrong, and making error on the tax return just to get it submitted in time”.
Yes, it’s not the most looked forward to resolution but we at Integrity Accountancy say that by preparing your tax return early, in a relaxed manner, you are likely to end up paying less tax. This is because you are less stressed, and more focused with your calculations and the deadline- January 31st. However, if you have an accountant the only stress you have is getting any information sent over, which can simply be done online at any point after the end of the tax year.
If your dreading the thought of where to begin completing your tax return, here are some tips to help, so you don’t end up paying more than you have to.
EARLY PREPARATION
In recent years a growing number of self-employed individuals have filed their tax returns online. To submit tax return online, a unique identification code and password are required. Problems can arise from this however, as if you do not have access to this information, the process of HMRC resending this information to you can cause further delays in the completion of your tax return. It is crucial that you complete your self assessment before January, as this is when their self-assessment helpline is the busiest. Also, if you complete your tax return early during the year and it shows you are due a tax refund, this will be paid before 31 January deadline, unlike your tax owed due by this date.
BE THOROUGH WITH YOUR EXPENSES
Most commonly forgotten expenses are mileage and professional subscriptions. These small expenses can add up and reduce your tax bill considerably. If you use your car for business and your employer pays you less than the HMRC maximum approved mileage rate (45p for the first 10,000 and 25p above this), you can claim the excess but often this is forgotten have misplaced the paper work. This all comes down to your organisation, sorting your expenses in date order making sure you have the VAT receipt and it is applicable for your tax return, which can be over whelming and time consuming. That’s why having Integrity accountancy services is helpful by getting your bookkeeping records to us promptly, enables us to do the hard work for you. This gives you peace of mind, everything has been accounted for on your tax return.
BECOME MORE ORGANISED
Organisation is hard to achieve when you don’t always know what to organise. Nothing is more frustrating when you start to fill an online form, only to find you are missing half the information required. Start off by gathering relevant forms which will include your P60/P45/P11D also PAYE coding notices and tax certificates for investment, self employed income will also mean you need any relevant bank statements and sale invoices. If you received income from letting property, you need letting agreements, mortgage interest statements and bills for expenses and management fees. Having a folder with this information might be a handy way to keep track of all the paperwork.
GET SOME HELP AND GUIDANCE
HMRC website is a great way to find out crucial information and advice, navigating through it all can be a little overwhelming so if you prefer the visuals there is always YouTube. There are a lot of videos offering tips to save you time and money but not all are specific to your tax return so be careful to know what you can and can’t include in your tax return. If that seems to technical and advanced, then you know its time to call Integrity Accountancy Services. You will need to act sooner, rather than later.
