Do I wait for a Self Assessment tax return request

bland

Been PAYE forever and never completed a Self Assessment tax return. This year my income is higher and right on the edge of having to pay a tax charge due to claiming child benefit so I think I've got to do a Self Assessment tax return for the first time.


A few questions being a newbie to this:

• Do I wait for a request from HMRC to do it or do I just crack on and start the process?
• When do requests get sent out by HMRC?
• If I don't receive a request, does that mean they don't need one (like I say, I'm right on the edge so might be ok)?

JuicyJesus

You just crack on and start the process. There is a deadline to do it by but there's not really any benefit to waiting for that - if HMRC are chasing you or sending reminders, you've probably left it too late.

If you have a personal tax account with HMRC you can do the whole thing online, the system guides you through it - my partner did hers literally on the first day of the new tax year and it took her about half an hour tops, including reading explanatory notes (although we already had a firm income figure to hand and hers was quite simple).

bland

Okay thanks. Happy to crack on but will prob wait for my P60 which is coming soon.


Are you kind of suggesting that I won't get told to do a tax return, I will just get told if I'm late doing it?


I'm close to the threshold, and don't want to waste time doing it if they don't want one, at same time, if I'm not going to get told to do it then I can't take the risk waiting.

BoGoF

Tax legislation states you must notify a liabilty to tax by 5 October after the tax year ended. This allows time for a Tax Return to be issued and returned prior to the due date of 31 January after the end of the tax year (due date for return and payment).

It is likely HMRC would eventually get round to issuing a Tax Return but this may not be till after the due date......leaving you liable to interest asnd penalties.

Dazed_and_confused

You will eventually be told by HMRC but as others have said you have obligations and there are distinct advantages in getting ahead of the game.

If you choose not to file your return by 30 December 2019 (either because you wait until closer to 31 January or because HMRC have not got round to asking you to file one) you will lose the chance to have any tax owed for 2018:19 collected by an adjustment to your 2020:21 tax code (assuming you don't owe too much and are still working on PAYE).

Some see this as in unnecessary complication to their tax code, others see it as an interest free loan from HMRC

bland

Thanks all - very helpful.

Begsey

Thought I would ask HMRC, just to see.
Question didn't relate to any specific CB account/claim, just advice on when to fill out self assessment, and asked if I would get time to repay.
14 days later, I get a reply saying they can't say as I'm not the person claiming child benefit.

Ah well, I'll leave it to them to figure out for themselves.

OP, the last 2 years my taxable pay was just short of the self assessment threshold, thanks to putting extra into my pension and my cycle to work scheme purchase.
If you're hovering around the 50k taxable (not NI pay) I'd look at options to get my taxable pay below 50k.