submission deadline Tax Returns are coming fast.
While those who are sending their returns HMRC While on paper they’ve been able to rest since Halloween night, the bulk of digital filers are doomed to spend the days leading up to January 31 with a cloud of reckoning over their heads.
For those who put it off for too long, the punishment can be crushing. Even people who are required to file a return but have no tax to pay must submit their return on time or face an initial £100 fine.
Fines are also imposed on those filing false information, with the risk of going to jail in the most severe cases.
During The Martin Lewis Money Show on Tuesday, the latest episode of its 12th season, the money saving expert urged Brits not to leave forms until the last minute as it could delay the HMRC backlog.
The deadline for submitting tax returns for self-employed or high-income earners is January 31 at 11.59 pm.
Here, Independent Covers the unfortunate mistakes taxpayers can easily make.
Remember the Child Benefit charge
Taxpayers earning more than £50,000 a year who still receive Child Benefit will need to pay back some or all of the tax – whether the benefit is paid to themselves or a spouse.
They should know that this needs to be included in the tax return as a “High Income Child Benefit Charge”.
Register with HMRC in good time
HMRC should be informed well in advance of the deadline if you are self-employed or need to complete a self-assessment tax return in order to send your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) in time.
It can take several weeks to get your UTR from HMRC, so if you don’t have one but need to file a tax return, Apply Online Now,
Digital return to be filed and payment to be made by midnight of January 31
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Late filing gives HMRC more time to make inquiries
HMRC has the right to investigate any return within 12 months of it being lodged. However, for returns filed after the 31 January deadline, HMRC has a deadline of one year and three months after the filing date.
In a tax enquiry, HMRC will check in detail that the information on the tax return is correct and complete.
Be careful when declaring state pension
Recipients of state pensions should remember that they do not include the amount actually received in the tax year but rather their pension entitlement. This is 52 times the weekly amount.
Include/Exclude Expenses
There are complicated rules governing what expenses you can deduct, and costly penalties for false claims.
It is not HMRC’s responsibility to check all your expenses to see which are valid and which are not. You must be aware of the rules and apply them to your tax return. HMRC lists some valid tax-deductible expenses Here,
HMRC brings in penalties against late filers
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attach supplementary page
For additional income not covered by the main tax return, you will need to include supplemental pages. Additional information that may be relevant includes:
- lump sum or compensation payments from your employer, or foreign income not taxable in the UK
- Taxable lump sum amount from foreign pension plans
- some job cuts
- Age related married couple’s allowance claim
- Other tax relief not found in the main section of your tax return
- stock dividend, non-qualifying distribution or closed company loan write-off
- Interest and accrued income benefits from gilts and other bonds
- life insurance benefits
- damage relief claim
- property income
signature and date
Paper returns must be signed and dated before submission. Photocopy will not be accepted. It’s a simple mistake, but people forget to sign tax returns.
check then check again
Looking at the figures frequently, the taxpayer may notice that their calculations don’t add up.
Perhaps they are due to pay a lot more tax this year, even though their income and expenses are the same as last year.
Any intentional wrongdoing can result in prosecution.