How to avoid self assessment

Albermarle

redped said:

I used to do SA but don't any more, and I'm sorely tempted to start doing it again. That way, I'll know exactly how much tax I owe/am owed, rather than HMRC's annual guess based on their (inaccurate) estimates of how much interest I'll make this year. It doesn't matter if I correct their estimates, they never seem to get my tax code right. Doing SA means an evening of my calculations, rather than waiting many months for HMRC to correct their mistakes.

I was forced off SA as part of some campaign to reduce the number being submitted.
Itried to continue but it would not let me.
It was much better doing one for the reasons you mention.

kipsterno1

OP, what has led you to this change?  It wasn't long ago that you were asking about the possibility to opt out of PAYE and do a self assessment.

allegro120

jaypers said:

I prefer doing a SA. It’s not really that hard and you then know that any interest calculations are accurate. 

I always submit mine, but never seen their calculations. Is there any specific place to find them or do I need to request them?

subjecttocontract

When you complete the SA online you are given the option of seeing how the tax bill has been arrived at. You can download the pages and print it if you want.

poseidon1

Uriziel said:

poseidon1 said:

Good to see the majority on this thread favour the control of one's tax affairs that come with self assessment.  However suspect OP  probably has far more in common with the majority of the population that prefer to be spoon fed their tax interactions with  HMRC , via tax code adjustments.

I personally find it distinctly odd that he finds it necessary to change his saving and investing behaviour  ( potentially to his detriment) to avoid taking control of his own tax reporting.

I don't understand how this is to my detriment. I pay 40% tax on the interest whereas if I move money to stocks I will only pay 28% tax. The interest I get is 4.75% while the average growth of the S&P of the last few years is 10% so I will be better off while also not having to file self assessment. I also moved £50k to premium bonds so with a bit of luck I will get a higher return than 4.75%x60%. I think this is a good decision.

I say to your potential detriment due to your somewhat confusing prior ' Getting Dividends' post.
 
Investing in the stockmarket to try and achieve lower taxed capital gains, doesn't seem entirely consistent with your previously stated desire to buy a property  'once interest rates go down'.

Markets do go down ( sometimes steeply), you don't want to be in that position and need those funds when the borrowing environment meets your property buying criteria. 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

allegro120 said:

jaypers said:

I prefer doing a SA. It’s not really that hard and you then know that any interest calculations are accurate. 

I always submit mine, but never seen their calculations. Is there any specific place to find them or do I need to request them?

It's probably more difficult to not view the calculation that it is to see it!

When you log into your Personal Tax Account and go the Self Assessment section it should be straightforward to find a calculation for returns that have been filed.

Uriziel

poseidon1 said:

Uriziel said:

poseidon1 said:

Good to see the majority on this thread favour the control of one's tax affairs that come with self assessment.  However suspect OP  probably has far more in common with the majority of the population that prefer to be spoon fed their tax interactions with  HMRC , via tax code adjustments.

I personally find it distinctly odd that he finds it necessary to change his saving and investing behaviour  ( potentially to his detriment) to avoid taking control of his own tax reporting.

I don't understand how this is to my detriment. I pay 40% tax on the interest whereas if I move money to stocks I will only pay 28% tax. The interest I get is 4.75% while the average growth of the S&P of the last few years is 10% so I will be better off while also not having to file self assessment. I also moved £50k to premium bonds so with a bit of luck I will get a higher return than 4.75%x60%. I think this is a good decision.

I say to your potential detriment due to your somewhat confusing prior ' Getting Dividends' post.
 
Investing in the stockmarket to try and achieve lower taxed capital gains, doesn't seem entirely consistent with your previously stated desire to buy a property  'once interest rates go down'.

Markets do go down ( sometimes steeply), you don't want to be in that position and need those funds when the borrowing environment meets your property buying criteria. 

1. I told you that I want to get less than £10k to get out of self assessment and that my interest rate is 4.75%. £9,999.99 / 4.75% is 210,526.10. That is enough money to use alongside a mortgage to purchase a property so I don't understand your argument of not putting money in stocks because of a property purchase.
2. If I do buy property it would probably be a 2 bedroom with as little of a deposit as possible so I would probably not need to use much of my own savings which again makes your property purchase argument moot.
3. Markets can go down but they can go up again like we saw with the tariffs. That's not really a reason to not put money on stocks.
4. Why do you say that I invest for lower taxed capital gains? I am talking about lowering my tax on interest which is not capital gains. If anything I am trying to increase capital gains since it is taxed at 24% and not 40%.
5. I don't think that I will need those funds for the foreseeable future.

It just sounds like you are trying to be negative without any real reason.

allegro120

subjecttocontract said:

When you complete the SA online you are given the option of seeing how the tax bill has been arrived at. You can download the pages and print it if you want.

I meant the amount of interest I received in previous tax years.  I'm interested in how my calculation differs from theirs.  In my understanding providers supply HMRS with figures, just want to see the total so I can compare it with mine.

subjecttocontract

I dont think HMRC are keen on doing 'nice to have' things for taxpayers just because the taxpayer might like to see a comparison. I approach things from a different direction. I keep my own detailed records and calculate what my tax liability is and then see what HMRC want to bill me. Never had much of a difference. Most years my figures from my tax return are exactly what's been used. My suspicion is that I'm declaring more interest than HMRC records show e.g. there has been some discussion on wether platforms such as Raisin have sent the figures to HMRC.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

allegro120 said:

subjecttocontract said:

When you complete the SA online you are given the option of seeing how the tax bill has been arrived at. You can download the pages and print it if you want.

I meant the amount of interest I received in previous tax years.  I'm interested in how my calculation differs from theirs.  In my understanding providers supply HMRS with figures, just want to see the total so I can compare it with mine.

There won't be a HMRC calculation if you file a tax return.

But you can ask them to send you details of the interest details they hold for the previous tax year if you want.