Help with filling in tax return

maggiesoup

I wonder if anyone could help please. I'm filling in a tax return (for the first time) because I part own a flat which is rented out so I need to complete the Return. I've bought furniture for the flat, on which part of the "property expenses" bit do I put in the total spent?

Thanks.

theartfullodger

Is it furnished or unfurnished??

Are you using accruals or cash approach to accounting for tax?

When was the property 1st let (even if you were making a loss..)??

maggiesoup

theartfullodger wrote: »

Is it furnished or unfurnished??

Are you using accruals or cash approach to accounting for tax?

When was the property 1st let (even if you were making a loss..)??

Hi, the property is being let as furnished. No idea what that second bit means and it was first let last September.

Thanks

booksurr

in simple terms you cannot ever claim the costs of purchasing new furniture against your income tax. They count as capital costs not revenue costs

in theory you can still claim the costs of buying replacement furniture once that lot wears out but you can never claim the initial cost of new stuff

in practice it is much easier to claim the wear and tear allowance- which is what artfull is leading up to

maggiesoup wrote: »

No idea what that second bit means

as you are obviously out of your depth it would be better to get an accountant to do your first return for you and then you take over next year

maggiesoup

as you are obviously out of your depth it would be better to get an accountant to do your first return for you and then you take over next year[/QUOTE]

Thank you to both replies and I note what you say about new furniture.

Whilst I thank you for your reply Booksurr, I find it a bit patronising that because I can't understand ONE sentence, you point me in the direction of having to seek the help of an accountant.

A couple of friends who fill in their Tax Return online tell me it's fairly easy but I've only been sent the paper form and now await my password to go online to complete there. If someone could please explain the sentence I'm querying I'm sure I just might be able to grasp it's meaning!

Thrugelmir

HMRC website is your port of call.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/pimmanual/pim3200.htm

fishpond

Go to HMRC website and look up what and when you can claim for.
Easy, but you obviously knew that all along.
The b****r beat me to it.

theartfullodger

If you don't understand the sentence you need to: Either read some books, go on a course or get an accountant: SaL could recommend.

If you want a free, open to all forum where all replies are always to your liking you may need to look elsewhere: I am not aware of any such forum, mind...

Or pay someone to tell you (eg an accountant?). The payment of money usually means they are kinda polite...

Slàinte mhath!

booksurr

maggiesoup wrote: »

Whilst I thank you for your reply Booksurr, I find it a bit patronising that because I can't understand ONE sentence, you point me in the direction of having to seek the help of an accountant.

whilst thrugelmir has given you the W&T rules you also need to have a good working knowledge of several other chapters from this http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/Manuals/pimmanual/index.htm

If you wish to be MSE then by all means DIY without an accountant, but you have a lot to get up to speed with and you will have no one to tell you if you're right. Using an accountant in your first year means you have the correct answer which you can then match to your understanding, so you have learned from them and need never use them again. If your friends who already do tax returns are also LL then fine , use them instead, but if they ain't then their ability to complete a tax return is not much use to your circumstances. The distinction between accruals and cash accounting is the bedrock upon which your whole tax return is based so that "one" sentence covers everything you will be filing - read the manual and you will see why

maggiesoup

booksurr wrote: »

whilst thrugelmir has given you the W&T rules you also need to have a good working knowledge of several other chapters from this http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/Manuals/pimmanual/index.htm

If you wish to be MSE then by all means DIY without an accountant, but you have a lot to get up to speed with and you will have no one to tell you if you're right. Using an accountant in your first year means you have the correct answer which you can then match to your understanding, so you have learned from them and need never use them again. If your friends who already do tax returns are also LL then fine , use them instead, but if they ain't then their ability to complete a tax return is not much use to your circumstances. The distinction between accruals and cash accounting is the bedrock upon which your whole tax return is based so that "one" sentence covers everything you will be filing - read the manual and you will see why

Thankyou, I will do some research this weekend.

SuzieSue

maggiesoup wrote: »

A couple of friends who fill in their Tax Return online tell me it's fairly easy

But are they doing it correctly? Anyone can fill in a tax return, but whether it is correct or not is a different matter.

Even accountants don't agree on everything because some tax rules are open to interpretation and some accountants are a lot better than others, so just using any accountant is no guarantee that what you are doing is correct.