Do i need to submit a self assessment tax return

dannygn123

I am registered as self employed but the tax year ending April 20 i earnt barely anything. I have the option to fill in a tax return and declare I had an income of under £2000. But if i fill in the questionnaire it says i do not need to fill in a self assessment return. It says I can fill one if i need to for example to prove i am self employed or to claim any tax relief which I do not need to do. If i don't submit one then i have to fill in a form to notify HMRC to say I want to remove myself from self assessment for this year. I am not sure what is best to do. Does it matter if i submit the return when it is saying i don't need to? or is it better to notifiy that i don't need to this year. As far as i know i dont need proof of slf employed. What i'm thinking is that does it matter if i just fill in the return anyway when they say i don't need to? Does it make a difference really?

Sandtree

You are contradicting yourself there as you say you are self employed but earned little and then say you know you have to fill in a form if you're self employed.

What was your self employed revenue (not profit) for the financial year? If it was over £1k then you must do your SA.

Other than the time it takes to do the form there is rarely and downsides to filling it in. As someone who formally had both PAYE and Self Employed income I did occasionally fill in the form when I possibly could have deregistered as self employed due to almost no turnover but in many years I got a modest rebate from the process.

dannygn123

sorry what i mean is there is a questionnaire on the hmrc to see if you need to submit it. When i fill in the answers it tells me i don't need to, but i have to inform hmrc, which can be done by filling in a short form saying why i don't need to submit it this year. So it's not wrong if i submit an SA form even though i earned under £1000? It won't do any harm submitting it anyway?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Assuming you have been issued with a return or notice to file a return then you are far better off just getting on with it and filing one.

AskAsk

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Assuming you have been issued with a return or notice to file a return then you are far better off just getting on with it and filing one.

this.  it would just be simpler to file one and if the system states you don't need to fill any more forms after your reply then you don't have to, but at least there is a record that you had done what had been requested.

dannygn123

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Assuming you have been issued with a return or notice to file a return then you are far better off just getting on with it and filing one.

I'm not sure If i have received a notice my accountant usually does it for me but i told him I hadn't worked so could i do it myself and he said yes. When I log in to my online tax account there is an option for submitting a return so I guess its fine to do so? I assume it won't be the wrong thing to do

AskAsk

dannygn123 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Assuming you have been issued with a return or notice to file a return then you are far better off just getting on with it and filing one.

I'm not sure If i have received a notice my accountant usually does it for me but i told him I hadn't worked so could i do it myself and he said yes. When I log in to my online tax account there is an option for submitting a return so I guess its fine to do so? I assume it won't be the wrong thing to do

it is never wrong to submit a tax return.  it will ask you if you have earned over a certain amount and if it thinks you are exempt, the system will generate the message and you can keep it as proof that you have done what is required.

the self assessment online submission produces the necessary forms for you to complete, depending on your answers to the questions.