Submitted by
Sestini & Co | on Tue, 01/20/2015 - 8:10 | In
Uncategorized It’s most certainly that time of year again….Christmas is becoming a distant memory, all but one of the New Year’s resolutions has fallen by the wayside and certain TV and radio channels and billboards are awash with people telling us how much better we’d feel if we had submitted our Self Assessment returns.
Statistics show that only 3-4% of the total Self Assessment returns filed are actually late, but of the remaining 96-97%, a huge proportion tend to be submitted in January each year.
If you haven’t yet done yours, the good news is that there is still time to submit your Self Assessment before the 31 January (midnight) deadline, provided you plan to file (or get someone else to file for you) online and if you are in the system. You will know if you are already “in the system” as you will have a UTR (unique taxpayer reference) number and may recall submitting tax returns at some point in the past.
If you are not yet in the Self Assessment system, you are right up to the limit for getting a registration through in time – but it is still worth starting the process now. HMRC may give you more time to submit your return without fear of penalties: the sooner you register once you realise you have a Self Assessment return to file, the better. Once you have registered for Self Assessment itself, you also need to register for online services and you will need HMRC to send codes to you for online security, so there are several steps to go through.
The following article explains the steps required for registration and online filing:http://bit.ly/1GntNdJ: of course you could always find a helpful accountant/tax adviser to do this for you and to answer any additional questions you may have. Most of us allow for a few new “late return” clients appearing at this time of year.
Aside from doing your utmost to submit your 2013/14 Self Assessment return on time, there are a few other things to note about the January 31 deadline:
- penalties for late filing are charged whether or not you owe tax;
- interest will be charged on late tax payments in addition to any late filing penalties (and if you prepare your return at the last minute, this may not enable you to find in time if any tax is due);
- some tax reliefs are only available on a timely-filed return, e.g. carry back of charitable contributions;
- 31 January 2015 is also the amendment deadline for 2012/13 returns: it is often a lot easier to claim a carried back loss or relief for a tax efficient investment or to correct a mistake through the tax return amendment process (i.e. you just submit a new Self Assessment) than it is to make a claim to reduce your tax liability through the “error or mistake” regime which applies once you miss the self assessment amendment deadline.
All good reasons for getting your 2013/14 return done now and for getting all your information ready much earlier next year…there will be a follow up blog shortly on how best to do that 🙂
In the meantime, any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01761 241 861 or at info@sestiniandco.co.uk
