The deadline for online self-assessment is round the corner and with all the talk about tax returns I have found it interesting, listening to people’s views regarding the completion of them. Just to clarify some of the misunderstanding surrounding who needs to complete one I have summarised below the most common reasons for needing to complete a tax return.
1. You are a self-employed sole trader or a partner in a business partnership
You will need to complete a return even if your profit is under the personal allowance, if you make a loss or if it’s your final year of trading.
2. You are a company director
3. Your annual income is £100,000 or more -you may have higher or additional tax to pay that hasn’t been collected through your tax code.
4. You have income from savings, investments or property
If you receive £10k or more from your taxed savings/investments and £2.5k or more from untaxed savings.
If you receive £10k or more from property(before deducting allowable expenses) and £2.5k or more from property (after deducting your allowable expenses)
5. If you are employed and want to claim expenses of £2.5k or more
6. You or your partner receive child benefit and your income is over £50,000
7. You have Capital Gains Tax to pay e.g you have sold, given away or otherwise disposed of an asset such as a holiday home or shares.
The key point is that you will need to complete a tax return even if you don’t have to pay any tax or you’ve already paid it.
If you are not sure whether you need to fill in a tax return you can use the very useful toolkit on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-a-tax-return
If you would like to chat about any of the above or need assistance in completing your return please get in touch to organise a free no obligations meeting. www.winchesterbookkeeping.co.uk
