Completing your tax return

Tips to get you started

1 All of your income should be included, even if it has been taxed at source. So you should have details of any bank interest, dividend payments and state pension.

2 If you are an employee, you will need your P60 and, if you have received taxable expenses or benefits, your P11D. If you are claiming for expenses, such as subscriptions to professional bodies or part of your household bills if you work from home, you will also need this information.

3 Tax returns consist of several different sections, so you will also need to check that you have been sent all of the relevant pages relating to your situation by completing page two of your tax return. If your tax affairs are deemed to be simple by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRCs), you may have been sent the shorter tax return.

4 Ignorance of tax rules is no excuse for getting your tax return wrong. One area that people commonly overlook is capital gains, because they don’t know what to declare. The capital gains tax pages also need to be completed to claim a capital loss.

5 If you do not fill in your tax return correctly, it will be sent back and could lead to you missing the deadline. HMRC list five common reasons for tax returns being rejected, one of which is a failure to submit supplementary pages of the return. Failure to complete the self-employed pages is another.

The remaining three reasons are: detailing information on separate schedules instead of on the actual return; putting notes, such as ‘per accounts’ and ‘information to follow’, on the return instead of actual figures; and failure to sign and date the return.

6 Once you have completed your tax return, keep a copy of the completed form and a copy of all the information on which you have based your replies. When the time comes to fill in next year’s return, being able to refer to what you submitted this year will be a useful starting point.

7 The filing deadline for paper self-assessment tax returns is being brought forward by three months – from the end of January to the end of October. Those who miss the deadline can expect to incur a £100 fine, plus interest on any tax owed.

This earlier deadline will take effect from the current 2007/08 tax year. Paper self-assessment tax forms will have to be filed by 31 October 2008. However, taxpayers who file their returns online will still have until the end of January 2009.

If you require any further information about the services that we provide or would like to review your financial planning position, please email or contact us.

Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change.
Article date: 08.07