Now the festivities are over there’s one less excuse for failing to submit your online tax return on time.
Leave it until after midnight on 31 January – when you also have to pay any tax you owe for the 2013-14 financial year – and you will be hit with an automatic £100 late return penalty and, if you keep delaying, any additional penalties can tot up to £1,600.
Most people who are required to file a self-assessment tax return, including the self-employed and those with more complex tax affairs – such as those earning money from rents or investments above a certain level – will know about it well in advance of the deadlines.
HM Revenue and Customs usually sends out tax returns in April, at the end of the tax year to which they apply.
If you received a return for the tax year 2013-14, which ended on 5 April 2014, you are too late to file by post. The deadline for that was 31 October. Your only option now is to go online which has the advantage of a later deadline – 31 January – as well as automatic calculations and on-screen help as you work your way through.
To send an online tax return you must be registered for HMRC online services and that involves getting an “activation code” by post, which will take a few days to arrive. So if you haven’t already got one, register as soon as possible at online.hmrc.gov.uk/registration/individual.
While you are waiting, it is a good idea to tackle the time-consuming task of getting together all the financial documentation you will need including, for example, bank statements, savings and investment statements and details of all sources of income received during the tax year.
Once your code arrives you must activate your account within 28 days. To do so, you will need your postcode or national insurance number and your 10-digit unique taxpayer reference (UTR) number. If you have registered for self assessment, you can find it on your tax return or “notice to complete a tax return” from HMRC.
Advertisement
If you have trouble signing up to file online, call the HMRC online services helpdesk on 0300 200 3600.
If you have previously registered, but since lost your user ID, you can request a new one online if you have your UTR number and password.
It is central to the self-assessment system that individuals have to contact their tax office if they do not receive a self-assessment return but think they should, or if their financial circumstances change.
You have six months from when the tax year ends on 5 April to report any new income. For example, if you become self-employed you have three months after the calendar month in which you start your work to let HMRC know.
If you are unsure whether you need to fill in a self-assessment return, you can check using an online tool at gov.uk/check-if-you-need-a-tax-return.
If you are registered for self-assessment, you normally pay any tax owed in twice-yearly instalments: 31 January is the deadline for paying the balance of any tax owed for the year ending the previous 5 April. It is also the date by which a taxpayer must make any first “payment on account” (advance payment) for the current tax year.
So on 31 January a taxpayer may have to pay both the balancing payment for the year 2014-15 and the first payment on account for 2015-16.
Separate from penalties for late filing of your tax return are penalties for late payment of any tax owing for 2013-14.
Over 30 days late in paying and you are charged 5% of the tax unpaid at that date. Leave it more than six months to pay any tax you owe for 2013-14 and you will have to pay an additional 5% of the tax unpaid at that date; leaving it more than 12 months means a further penalty of 5% of the tax unpaid at that date. Interest is also charged on all outstanding amounts, including any unpaid penalties, until payment is received in full.