
If you are newly self-employed or have additional income for the tax year 2014/15 you need to register for self-assessment by October 5, otherwise your finances could go up in smoke
Failure to register on time can result in penalties of up to 30 per cent of the tax due, or more in some cases, unless you pay the tax by January 31. So ensure you’ve registered online in time. Registering for self-assessment enables HMRC to assign you a unique tax reference (UTR), and sparks the issue of a tax return. Returns are usually due by January 31 if done online ? or October 31 for those that use paper forms ? or within three months from the issue of the return notice, if later. The UTR number is then used to track your return and eventual tax payment. Self-assessment tax returns are on the rise Over 10 million people filed a self-assessment tax return for 2013/14 and this is expected to increase, due to an increasing number of people having a second income stream, from buy-to-let enterprises to selling items online for profit, or owing the high income child benefit charge, coupled with roughly one in seven individuals now being self-employed. Although Britain is set to overhaul its tax returns system through digitisation, don?t forget that?s not happened yet and if you want to send it in on paper then returns are due by October 31 ? or three months after requested by HMRC, if later. Read more about how to deal with HMRC in the best ways possible:- Tips for dealing with the tax man
- How to negotiate with HMRC over a tax debt
- HMRC stepping up tax pressure on SMEs
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