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Self Assessment Help needed??

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  • John_Pierpoint
    John_Pierpoint Posts: 8,401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    edited 6 August 2009 at 5:49PM
    You need to report all earned and unearned (savings interest etc) and self employed turnover less expenses equals profit for the year from 06apr08 to 05apr09.

    The figures should be on the P60. There might be an issue about the way pension contributions have been reported. I was fortunate enough to have an employer who took the (then) 5% pension contribution off my gross and stuck it into his pension fund, before working out the tax on what was left.
    My employer also did Felixstowe's dockers and the union there did a good job, in working out from the February pay slip of their members, what could be put into the pension scheme to avoid going into 40% tax for the year. (Used to give the payroll department a real hassle at the end of March).

    I am assuming you are doing the coloured pages type of self assessment return.
  • trixxi
    trixxi Posts: 162 Forumite
    This sounds way more complicated?? At least i have a wee while to get my head round it!!

    I am thinking about doing this one online like you suggested earlier, so i can learn whilst doin it.

    I have sent the other 2 away so the pressure is off now.

    Yes using the coloured pages.

    What would happen if i have filled out any of the returns wrong?
  • fengirl_2
    fengirl_2 Posts: 4,530 Forumite
    HMRC will process the forms using the information you have given.
    They could pick the returns up for investigation and if the profits have been incorrectly reported and there is tax to pay, your OH will need to pay this, plus interest and a possible penalty. As the returns are late and you are reporting very low profits, HMRC would view these as high risk returns.
    Saying that you completed the self assessments is no defence on the part of your OH. I think you have adopted a very risky strategy.
    £705,000 raised by client groups in the past 18 mths :beer:
  • trixxi
    trixxi Posts: 162 Forumite
    Fengirl, i was meaning if i hadnt filled the form out properly (ie. put something in a wrong box), not the figures were incorrect.

    I am not forming a defence, we just cant afford to pay a professional to do the job.

    You say risky strategy?? what else should i have done?
  • fengirl_2
    fengirl_2 Posts: 4,530 Forumite
    If you put a figure in the wrong box, the return will be processed on the information put in that box. Therefore if you declare taxed interest as untaxed interest, it will be treated as untaxed interest. The officers who process returns (or even the machines) are not programmed to think - they just punch in the numbers as you have given them.
    In my view you are not helping your husband by doing this all yourself. He should have been heavily involved as it comes down to him in the end. You could have asked for help from your local tax office - they could not give advice or fill things in, but they can guide you as to what to enter where on the form and Im sure one of their inspectors could have helped in making sure the accounts were properly formatted.
    £705,000 raised by client groups in the past 18 mths :beer:
  • John_Pierpoint
    John_Pierpoint Posts: 8,401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Hi Fengirl,
    I really admire the time and effort you put into this forum helping people.
    I don't know if you have read this from the top, but it emerges that "trixxi's" poor husband has had a minor stroke about 3 (?) years ago. (He seems to be getting better now).

    Had she and we realised this from the start of her problems, we might have been able to arrange for a home visit from the tax man to help sort out the mess?

    She might live in somewhere where the tax people have set up a walk in enquiry office that can help people with this sort of problem (like my local town of Basildon), but perhaps she does not..

    As it stands she has battled through three years forms trying to settle the outstanding tax liability on a few thousand pounds.

    My own sister got into a bit of a mess like this some years back, and I helped her fill in the forms, even though some of the information needed was missing and we had to guess.

    It was obvious from the response of the HMRC clerk who had to work out what she owed on fairly trivial part time tasks, such as working for a local charity; that the clerk had erred in her favour (compared with what I made it on the back of an envelope).

    I think that was actually the right decision and in the public interest but now we seem to be crucified by the computer system?

    Do you think the time has come to try and get (back?) to a system, that ordinary tax payers on very modest incomes, can understand ?

    It seems to me that we are in danger of the tail wagging the dog if we are not careful.

    I personally will vote for the party who undertakes to go back to Nigel Lawsons policy of getting rid of a tax every year.

    John.
  • fengirl_2
    fengirl_2 Posts: 4,530 Forumite
    Yes, I have been following this thread from the beginning. I do not normally post my personal political views on here as I dont think that wishing the law was different helps the people with the problems. We all know that HMRC will not be interested in whether Trixxi's husband is unwell or not, the system is the system ad he will be put through it one way or the other.
    I was closely involved in taxpayer education when self assessment was inroduced and I wasn't the only person in the old Inland Revenue who foresaw the rpblems the system would cause. And not only among those could couldn't afford professional help.
    All we can do is offer help and advice with the way the law stands now. I'm sorry if I sound harsh at times - I am not unsympathetic, merely trying to offer practical advice.
    £705,000 raised by client groups in the past 18 mths :beer:
  • John_Pierpoint
    John_Pierpoint Posts: 8,401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    edited 9 August 2009 at 12:07AM
    :rolleyes:"The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath?":rolleyes:

    I think there is an organisation that gives free advice on a sort of "pro bono" basis,
    for people with modest amounts of tax to pay? Am I ringing any bells?

    (Mind you the Financial Times used to run a similar "agony" letter service, I tried it once and the answer I got was WRONG).

    Ah found it:
    http://www.taxaid.org.uk/
  • trixxi
    trixxi Posts: 162 Forumite
    Thought i would swing by and update you with what happened next.......

    John.. i havent been on here for ages so just got your message.. sorry...
    i really appreciated all your help...

    So .... I took my time and filled out the 2 late returns, sent them off with a letter explaining why my hubby hadnt completed any returns, offering medical records to substantiate my reasons.

    Fortunately when we heard back they told us we had no tax to pay (obviously due to poor earnings) :j

    The last return i had to complete was for end of jan10 which i did online, I found this the easiest way to complete the return, i found out instantly if we had money to pay or receive back, which took away the horrible waiting game.

    The online form did take me a long time, but I would definitely recommend it, it guides you thru and you can go back and change things if you need to, or in my case if you put a figure in at the wrong point, which was what put me off using it.

    It feels great to finally be up to date, and the whole process was not as scary as i thought.

    Thank you for all the help I was given, and john for all the time you put in to give me such detail replies.

    Hubby is well and completely recovered, life is good and we are finally in control :j Thanks!
  • trixxi
    trixxi Posts: 162 Forumite
    I think we stilll will need to complete a return as my hubby is eligible for some tax relief.

    He works more than 5 miles away from home every day for more than 5 hours, and so i need to claim this.

    We were also advised to claim a daily subsistence for his time working as an employee. Although when we did our return on line the final figure said we were due a rebate, the amount that was credited to the bank was less and we have had no explanation as to why. so not sure whether we got the daily subs or not?

    Thanks anyway
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