It’s that time of year again that most business owners dread; filing your Self Assessment Tax Return. With the 31 January deadline for online submissions looming, Kirkwood Wilson Accountants gives you a timely reminder of everything you need to consider to get your tax return filed safely for another year.
Self Assessment Tax Return (SATR) Forms for the tax year 2014/15 that are to be submitted electronically must be filed by 31 January 2016. This covers all income, dividends, rental income and Capital Gains in the period 6 April 2014 to 5 April 2015.
Failure to submit on time results in a penalty being applied. It’s £100 straight away with further penalties depending on how late it is. Any tax due must also be paid by 31 January 2016 and failure to do so results in interest being charged.
5 Typical Problems with Self Assessment Tax Returns
5. Unique Tax Reference – In order to file your SATR electronically, you need to have your Unique Tax Reference. If you haven’t got it, it has to be requested and HMRC will post it out to you, leading to several extra days of delay.
4. Sign and date – You must sign and date your SATR. After all of the hassle of getting the information in the correct box, it’s easy to overlook this vital step.
3. Check details – You must make sure that your National Insurance number and any other reference numbers are correct. The odd typo can result in a rejection of the return.
2. Be precise – You must be precise. Entries such as ‘as per accounts’ and ‘info to follow’ will not be accepted.
1. Declare everything – It’s easy to forget something; a new source of income, a cashed-in policy that needs declaring, a capital gain that happened 18 months ago. It’s your responsibility to make sure that everything is declared!
Our account on matters
Caroline Wilson, Managing Director of Kirkwood Wilson Accountants, has extensive experience of handling tax returns. Caroline said: “We know that this is a particularly stressful time of year for many small to medium business owners. Filing a tax return probably ranks near the top of most people’s least favourite annual activities.
However, it’s one of those tasks that must be done. With stiff penalties for non-compliance, the short-term pain is definitely worth it in the long run. Often, the thought of completing the self assessment process is far worse than the reality and the relief of getting it done is something that we can all identify with!
“Here at Kirkwood Wilson, we have many years of helping our clients to complete their Self Assessment Tax Return correctly and on time. Next year, if you’d like us to take away the hassle and headache for you then speak to one of our advisers who will take care of everything for you,” she added.
