Self Assessment / pension / tax calculating

jnorth55

Hi,
I've searched for something like this for a few days now but nothing quite fits. Basically as you can't use the Gov.UK website to run a simulation of a self employed return prior to the end of the current tax year what I'm looking for is some kind of simulator or calculator that allows you to input profits, interest from savings & pension contributions to get an accurate calculation of what the tax will be.
I'm trying to work out if I should pay in a bit more to my pension this year to reduce my tax bill but what with the various allowances i'm finding it hard to work out. I've tried a few online self calculators but they all seem to give different results with identical information.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657483/self-assessment-pension-tax-calculating

Given the Personal Allowance remained the same, as did most of the 0% tax bands and the basic rate band have you tried amending your 2204/25 return (and then discarding it)?

Less useful if you are Scottish resident.

jnorth55

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81904610#Comment_81904610

Thanks for the reply. I haven't tried that as I wasn't sure if it would somehow alter the information that was already submitted when going from one page to the next (as to do that you have to press 'save & continue'?. Is this something you're tried & know it works ok

SVaz

Any accounting software which allows you to link to your hmrc account and business bank account gives you this option.

I use freeagent and it shows my tax position at a glance as long as I’ve input the details like my assumed savings interest, pension contributions and military pensionincome, it literally fills in your tax return as you go and obviously you can edit it anytime up until submission

jnorth55

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81904764#Comment_81904764

Thanks but I don't use such software as yet, though am looking at it for MTD.

poseidon1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657483/self-assessment-pension-tax-calculating

I use third party software to file my annual tax return ( there are around 41 HMRC approved providers).

Some of them allow you to try before you buy and enter 'what if' scenarios in the software to demonstrate functionality and how it might benefit you.

If you are going to be caught by MTD in any event, those software providers should be your 1st port of call for what you have in mind.

I use Gosimple Tax, but other ( cheaper) approved providers are out there.

jnorth55

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81904953#Comment_81904953

Thanks, but this isn't a suitable option right now. To use that sort of software I'd need to register for MTD, link hmrc etc & with 1 month of this tax year to go there isn't time + I won't have to start using MTD until next year as my earnings this year haven't been above the limit.

All I want is a simple way to calculate different pension payments to see their effect on my tax & there doesn't seem to be such a thing that I can find. I've even tried asking AI but it outputs different results on different days so…

DRS1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81905001#Comment_81905001

I don't think people were saying you'd need to register for MTD just that if you find someone who offers a try before you buy self assessment programme you could put the figures in there.

Alternatively you could put the figures on here and someone will probably be able to help.

jnorth55

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81905011#Comment_81905011

Thanks. All the free software I've looked into only does reports once you've signed up & linked to hmrc. If anyone knows one that doesn't I'd be interested.

I'm not sure about putting the actual sums on a public forum. In effect all I'm trying to do is work out whether putting a bit more into my pension this tax year will be of benefit & the various factors make it complicated to work out; tax bands, started rates for saving interest etc etc.

Someone suggested amending a submitted tax return, viewing the calculation but then not, of course, submitting anything. I tried doing that with one figure, then viewing the calculation then signing out. When I signed back in the changes were still there. When I then re-adjusted that figure to get it back to what it was on the submitted return & viewed the calculation my tax had changed & I have no idea why. I didn't submit anything & my payment account still shows the original sums but I certainly wouldn't recommend amending a submitted return to see what different amounts would do, as clearly some of that information is stored.

DRS1

You mentioned getting different results from different calculators - is it at all obvious what the differences are caused by? It may be possible to extract that into a question people on here could answer without going into figures.

If you have the starter rate for savings then is it a question of what reduces that?

If that is an issue for you then maybe the question is would a pension contribution free up more of the starter rate? I have to admit I am not sure about that. Possibly not if it is a relief at source contribution.

There is a tool on Gov.uk for working out tax on savings income but it may not help you if you have to do self assessment and it may not cover everything you need anyway.

Check how much tax you pay on dividends and interest from savings - GOV.UK

DRS1

Did you look at Sage? I have not explored it but it seemed to talk about copying figures across to the HMRC form so maybe it does not make you do the sign up stuff? But as I say I have not explored it and I don't know if it calculates the tax due

Self Assessment Software for Tax Returns | Sage UK