Shorter/Easier Self Assesment Form?

Sarahjovi

Hello,

I have finally got around to looking at my very first Self Assesment Form yesterday and was agast at how complicated it looks.

I spoke to a friend this morning who fills one in every year for her child minding business and she told me that she fills in a 4 page booklet and if I have made under £15,000 pa, I too should be able to fill in this booklet and not the one I have got!

Is this right! Can some one point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Sarah

Petmidget

You have probably been issued with the main return only if IR do not know which of the 10 supplmentary returns you may require as well.

The section your friend speaks of is contained in the Self Employed (SE) pages (a supplmentary return) and is a short return where a person selling (not profit) under £15k a year may put in sales less expenses = profit to assess.

I would suggest you at least approach a "tax shop" to get instructions as to what you require, these are the cheapest way of having a professional do your return, but they tend not to be set up for anything more complex than basic self employed requirements.

Never fill one in yourself unless you know what your doing, you will mess it up and NEVER EVER go to a IR help centre, they are not there to help you save tax just to help you filll in the form.

BTW, my first post in this section of the forum I think but I will be hoping to lend a regular hand here in future. As goodwill for some very valuable information I have had from this site.

FYI I am a Chartered Tax Adviser

Sarahjovi

Thanks for that. How do I go about finding a "Tax Shop"?

Thank you

Sarah

Petmidget

Yellow pages they normally have ads that read Self Employed and CIS a speciality

ctm_2

In your first year of self assessment you will always be required to complete the full return (SA100) and any necessary supplementary pages.

Once this has been processed HMRC will look at what income you have and if appropriate will instead issue you with a Short Tax Return (SA200) which requires no supplementary pages, to complete in future years.

I don't necessarially agree with Petmidget's advice about never completing the return yourself, and never going to an HMRC enquiry centre for help. The tax return is not really that difficult, and you can receive FREE help from an HMRC enquiry centre or any of the HMRC helplines.

I would also have liked to think that a Chartered Tax Adviser would be slightly more up to date and realise that the Inland Revenue (IR) has not existed for over a year, and is now Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Petmidget

I am well aware of the change of name and merging of the 2 agencies.

But lots of people are not.

And most people including the HMRC still refer to the separate entities of HM Inspector of Taxes or Inland Revenue and HM Custom & Excise. Its still on most of their letterheads.

So for convenience I think you will still find most people who deal with them professionally still refer to them as IR and C&E. As the agencies may have merged but none of their duties have and they have distinct roles.

People still refer to National Insurance Contributions Office (NICO) but that merged with IR or HMRC if you will some 5 years ago.

Cook_County

Petmidget is also verging on breaching one of the rules of this forum; which is no advertising or s/he will need to go to the referrers board. Some of my pet hates are also poor spelling and sentence structure!

That aside I would ask why the OP has a tax return. HMRC will help, if you need more specialist advice then always seek a qualified tax adviser.

Debt_Free_Chick

I agree. No need to pay a "Tax Shop". Your local tax office will help, for free! They are not there to collect tax that's not due....they just want you to pay the tax that you owe.

Look "tax" up in your local Yellow Pages.

Petmidget

Who is advertising? Have I asked anyone to contact me and I will advice for a fee, NO.

I am trying to offer advice on a subject which I am very knowledgable basically in return for advice I have received in other areas in this site.

If it isnt welcome that fine, carry on with the "my mate down the pub told me"

If by advertising you mean "i recommend you seek paid for professional advice" that is because I would think the issue too complex for a layman to get a full grasp of without expending a large amount of their time.

Depends how valuable you view your time, personally I wouldn't dream of spending a week totally cocking up fitting my kitchen when I can pay someone £500 to fit it for my in a day.

wotsthat

Is this right! Can some one point me in the right direction.

Why don't you go to the Inland Revenue website https://www.hmrc.gov.uk and sign up for self assessment online?

It's reasonably simple, there's decent online help and on the one occasion I called it I spoke to someone immediately. In fact they didn't know the answer to my query, promised to call back at a certain time and actually did!

The Revenue want us to fill in returns online to make their life easier (and cheaper) - once you've filled in a form online you'll never go back to paper. It's a much better online system than they had in the early days.

This year the Revenue owed me - the money was in my bank within 48 hours of submitting the form.

I can't see the point of paying someone to do it for you unless your affairs are really complicated. Talk to your tax office for free - that's what we pay them for.

Cook_County

Petmidget

I find your lack of understanding as to how to construct a sentence, spell and use of swearwords quite unacceptable. I would also suggest you refrain from gender specific words such as 'layman' and claiming that you are 'very knowledgeable'.

I know many many CTAs and doubt that you possess this qualification at all. Passing off is a serious offence. If you claim to be qualified then what year did you qualify, what number of years experience do you have and what (if any) areas do you specialise in advising on?

In summary patience, goodwill and modesty are virtues from which this forum flourishes. Please be kind to others, and they will treat you decently in return!