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The one good thing about the tax return deadline is that it always remains the same – 31st January. This means that with a little bit of organisation and the help of your accountant, you should be able to avoid facing penalties by maintaining easily accessible and up-to-date records of your income and expenses throughout the year. 

The better your record keeping, the easier it will be for your tax return to be completed accurately and well before the deadline. Also, if you are expecting a refund or your income varies throughout the year, our article explains why you shouldn’t delay filing your self-assessment tax return

Give yourself plenty of time to prepare your tax return

If your financial affairs changed this year, then putting them in order sooner rather than later will give you the space to think about any tax planning opportunities available to you.

It also allows time for bank statements and any other financial documents you may need to file the return to be collated. Apps like Dext make it much easier today to help you keep track of all those bits of paper that build up over the months.

Filing your tax return now does not mean you have to pay your tax bill early

Calculating your tax liabilities and filing your return now will allow you time to start budgeting and managing your cashflow, and to plan for paying any tax you may owe. Speeding through your tax return at the last minute increases the risk of mistakes being made, and HMRC has declared it will – and does – issue fines for errors. And if you pay your tax bill late, HMRC will charge you interest and possibly even late payment penalties. 

However, filing your tax return early does not mean you are obliged to pay any tax liability before the normal due date of 31st January. 

Get a tax refund sooner by filing your tax return early

Refunds of tax can often arise for employees or directors when HMRC has made errors with its tax codes. Also, it is not unusual for building subcontractors operating under the Construction Industry Scheme to receive tax refunds.

Therefore, the earlier you file your tax return, the sooner any refund you may be eligible for will be processed. That will mean any money owed to you by HMRC could be gathering a few months’ extra interest in your bank account. So why wait until January when refunds usually take longer to be issued as this is HMRC’s busiest time?

Filing your tax return now ensures meeting the deadline

If you delay filing your tax return, you risk missing the deadline and face being issued with an automatic £100 filing penalty, no matter how much tax you had outstanding. If your tax return becomes more than three months late, £10 daily penalties will start building up until they hit a £900 peak. 

Should the return become more than six months late then a penalty of the higher of £300 or 5% of your tax due will be charged. The same level of penalty is applied again if the return becomes over 12 months late. All of these penalties are in addition to one another, and as a result of this the penalties for a late tax return could hit more £1,600. 

We can help file your tax return

Tax has become an ever-changing and increasingly complex field and unless you have expert knowledge, you may be left bewildered and miss out on all the reliefs you are eligible for. Without the help of an advisor, you could end up paying too much tax without realising, or accidently pay too little and risk an investigation.

So why wait, call us today on 01223 414033 or use our simple online enquiry form and beat the deadline, be safe in the knowledge that you can be relaxed about your tax.

Date published 17 Aug 2018 | Last updated 29 Sep 2023

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

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