Time is fast running out to file your Self Assessment!

Just how quickly has this year flown by, eh? It’s something that you may well have heard, if you haven’t said it yourself. Maybe it’s something that you notice more the older that you get.

The Olympics are a distant memory (great weren’t they?), the cooler weather has arrived (brrrr!), the kids are back at school (hurrah!) and the football season is well underway again (hurrah!). The final quarter of the business year will also start on 1 October, just a month before Halloween and Bonfire Night, then it will be less than eight weeks until Christmas. Gulp!

But that’s not what Mike at GoSimpleTax is worrying about.

You see October’s arrival will also mean the Self Assessment tax return online-filing deadline is just 16 weeks away. And if the speed that the year has already flown by is anything to go by, the online-filing deadline will soon be upon us, especially with the demands of the run-up to Christmas to come.

Time to get organised

You can of course get your Self Assessment tax return off your plate now, which makes perfect sense. You don’t have to wait until December or January to do it, in fact, you could have filed it anytime after the start of the new UK tax year on 6 April.

Getting it done and out of the way now means you can get on with other things, without having the unwanted added headache of having to complete your tax return in December, with so many other things going on pre Christmas. Or worse still, you could leave it until January, when you’ll be battling the fast-approaching online-filing deadline (midnight on the 31). If you miss it, of course, you’ll have to pay an automatic £100 fine, which is hardly a great way to start the new year.

Tax returns made easier

If you use accounting software, which you regularly update with your business income and tax expenses, your Self Assessment tax return will be much easier to complete. The main summary sole trader figures that you’ll need will be easily accessible. If you don’t use accounting software, gathering together and totalling up your sole trader income and tax expenses will take much longer (especially if you have to wade through an unruly mountain of sales receipts and invoices).

Don’t opt to complete a paper tax return, because it takes much longer and it needs to be filed before midnight 31 October. It’s little wonder that fewer than 3% of taxpayers choose to file a paper Self Assessment tax return. Doing it online is a far better option, plus the deadline is three months later.

To speed things up when completing your Self Assessment tax return, you’ll need other information, such as your ten-digit UTR (ie Unique Taxpayer Reference), your National Insurance number, summaries of your other taxable income and expenses, which could include dividends, interest, pensions, rental income, capital gains, etc.

You’ll also need details of any contributions to charity or pensions for which you wish to claim tax relief, while if you also earn income from employment, you’ll also need your P60. Your P60 shows how much tax and National Insurance you’ve paid, which you’ll need to include in your Self Assessment tax return, if relevant.

Saving time with filing software

You can complete your Self Assessment tax return online by signing in via Government Gateway to access HMRC’s online services. However, using commercial Self Assessment tax return filing software really can make things quicker, easier and it’s much cheaper (£5 a month) than using an accountant.

Tax return-filing software can prevent simple mistakes, such as not completing necessary supplementary tax return pages or not filling in all relevant boxes in the return, because the software provides prompts and holds your hand throughout the process. Tax return-filing software can also ensure that you claim all of your tax allowances and reliefs, which will help to minimise your tax bill.

By using good tax return-filing software, you should be able to get the job done in a couple of hours or so. Then you can forget all about your tax return for another year and use your precious time to do something more enjoyable. How great would that be?

About GoSimpleTax

Record Income, Expenses and tax submission all in one.

It is the solution for non-residency returns, the self-employed, sole traders, freelancers and anyone with income outside of PAYE.

The software will provide you with hints and tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you may have missed.

Get started with GoSimpleTax today.