Tis the Season for Your Tax Return

December marks the penultimate month in which to file your 2014/15 self assessment tax return.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimates around 11 million people are required to submit a 2014/15 tax return. Taxpayers will need to file their returns electronically by 31 January 2016 in order to avoid being issued with an automatic filing penalty.

To help you on your merry way with your tax return, we’ve compiled a list of common entries for tax returns completed by employees and the self-employed.

Common items on tax returns

The 2014/15 tax year runs from 6 April 2014 to 5 April 2015. Unless otherwise stated, the following information should cover this period.

This list is by no means complete, but hopefully it will serve as an aide memoire.

Late Filing Penalties

If you are still not raring to go with your tax return, perhaps a reminder of the late filing penalties will persuade you:

An initial £100 penalty, which will apply even if there is less than
£100 tax to pay or the tax due is paid on time

After 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day –
up to a maximum of £900

After 6 months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300 
whichever is greater

After 12 months, another 5% of the tax due or £300; whichever is greater.
In serious cases, the penalty after 12 months can be up to 100% of the tax due


Each of these penalties is in addition to one another, so a return filed a year late could face penalties of at least £1,600 – and this could escalate depending on the level of tax due.

Penalties are a waste of your hard-earned cash and you do not get tax relief for them either. 

Help is at hand

HMRC’s online filing system for tax returns calculates your tax liability for you. But needless to say, it will not check whether your figures are accurate or that you have claimed your full entitlement to expenses, reliefs and tax allowances. HMRC will penalise for any mistakes made whether you were aware of this or not. Ignorance is not bliss!

Your local TaxAssist Accountant would be happy to take care of all your tax affairs for you; from registration with HMRC, to completion of the return, to calculation of your tax liability and the due dates. You could be missing out on a tax refund without our expertise.

So don’t get the New Year off to a bad start by filing your tax return late and facing a late filing penalty.

Last updated: 4th December 2015