Is self assesment tax form easy?

ipri

Hi...I have had an accountant for last 25 yrs.When I retire next year he has offered to do an annual return for about £300.....Do I really need him anymore....is it difficult to do online return?...our only income will be on my pension and our savings. thanks ian

p00hsticks

Unless the income from your pensions and savings is very large, I'd be surprised if you will be asked to complete an SA - and even if you are then it should be very simple to do. Certainly (IMHO) not worth paying £300 for!

jem16

ipri wrote: »

our only income will be on my pension and our savings. thanks ian

With that only it will be very easy to do.

Register for online self assessment with HMRC. Each page is laid out with clear questions and easy to follow. There are also help icons if you do get stuck.

There's a demo here if you want to have a look.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/demo/individual/self-assessment/

glider3560

Just make sure you keep accurate records of everything, although you are probably doing this already if your accountant does your form for you.

PlutoinCapricorn

Unless you have complicated affairs, and processing the records and figures takes huge amounts of your time, it is best to do it yourself. I agree that the online way is simplest. You will wonder why you did not do it ages ago and save the fees!

ipri

Thanks to everyone...At the moment I pay tax twice yearly...end of Jan and again July....Is this the same when I do self asses/online ?...or is it a once/yr payment? Thanks ip

gaz2427

Very easy and straight forward when you register to do it online with the HRMC. I am no wizz at sums but with this format it is a case of adding and taking away and nothing more. Make sure you save your file though each time you complete a section as i have lost information before which is v annoying. Good luck.

tyllwyd

If you do your self-assessment online, you still have to pay tax in January, but you only have to make a payment on account in July if your tax bill the previous year was more than (I think) £500.

You should be able to estimate your income quite well when its just savings/pension, so when you do your next tax return, if your income next year will be substantially less than this year make sure you check whether you should ask to reduce your payment on account.