The Personal Tax Return deadline is nearly here

You must also file a self-assessment tax return if you are a higher income earner, earn foreign income, are a landlord, have your own pension fund, or if you have certain investments or savings.

If you fit into one of the above categories, you must complete a Personal Tax Return as it will determine how much tax you will owe to HMRC. Not filing a self-assessment, or filing late, will result in fines and penalties.

The deadline to file and submit a Personal Tax Return for the tax year 6 April 2015 to 5 April 2016 is coming on 31^st January 2017. Have you submitted yours yet? If not, here’s what you should do.

Hire an accountant

Since the Personal Tax Return deadline is just over two months away, your best bet for organising and submitting the relevant information on time is to hire an accountant. Attempting to manage the process yourself, even online, could result in many hours of stress and hassle, and could result in you making a mistake on your return and receiving a penalty from HMRC.

A good accountant can take a few details from you, complete all the relevant paperwork accurately, and submit everything to HMRC within the deadline.

Here’s what you should have ready for your accountant in order for them to swiftly and accurately complete your Personal Tax Return.

Have your Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number ready

In order to complete your Personal Tax Return, your accountant must be given your UTR number. You would already have a UTR number if you’ve done a tax return in the past. If you have used the same accountant for tax returns in the past, they should have your UTR on hand.

If you do not yet have a UTR number, this can be obtained via the Government website.

Know the details of your main income sources

Your accountant will need the details of your main income sources for the tax year 6 April 2015 to 5 April 2016, including any employment, dividend, bank interest, pension, foreign income, rental property or other income you have received, including outstanding student loans and child benefit. You should be prepared to tell your accountant the name of the income source, the gross income amount, the tax deducted, the net amount received, and the other necessary details your accountant may ask for.

A good Personal Tax accountant will be able to gather this information from you and complete the relevant forms on your behalf so you don’t have to worry about spending hours on the phone or in person.

Once all of this information is collated by your accountant, they will calculate whether you may be due to pay tax or if you could be due a refund. They will then confirm, verify, and finalise all of the information with you before submitting to HMRC.

You may now have an idea of how complex a self-assessment Personal Tax Return can be. If the above makes you feel overwhelmed, contact us today and we will take care of the administration and hassle for you, and get your Personal Tax Return completed before the 31^st January deadline.

What happens if I don’t have my Personal Tax Return completed by the deadline?

If you fail to have your Personal Tax Return completed and submitted by midnight on the 31^st of January, you will incur an automatic penalty of £100. See the below table for a more detailed list of late filing penalties:

Late by:	Penalty issued:
1 day	Automatic fixed penalty of £100; applicable even if no tax is owed
3 months	£10 per day up to a maximum of £900. This is in addition to the above penalty
6 months	£300 or 5% of tax due; the highest amount. In addition to both penalties above
12 months	£300 or 5%; the highest amount. You may be asked to pay 100% of the tax due instead, in addition to the above penalties.

To avoid filing your Personal Tax Return late and incurring late penalties, get started on completing the necessary paperwork now if you haven’t already. Our expert Personal Tax team can help, and can even complete and submit the necessary paperwork to HMRC on your behalf.

Get started on completing your Personal Tax Return now by contacting us on 01707 871622 or via enquiry@churchill-knight.co.uk.