Collaborative Post
Are you someone who really dreads January and breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of getting your tax return ready? If you’re self-employed or a sole trader, you probably don’t look forward to it being time to file your taxes. Getting your Self Assessment tax return ready is usually not much fun, but it doesn’t have to be stressful.
Getting this task done and completed early is not always easy to do, but it is possible to get through tax season without experiencing the stressed out rush to get it all done in January. Here’s how you can make tax season much less stressful with some simple preparation.
Gather All Your Infomation
Don’t put off getting all your necessary documents and financial records together, and get them all ready early. Make a checklist to make sure you have everything you need and avoid delays because you’ve lost something or don’t have it.
The documents and data that you might need could include:
- Your National Insurance number
- Your Unique Taxpayer Reference number or UTR
- Your business/partnership name, address, and company number
- Your P45
- Your P60
- Your P11D
- Figures for your business’s annual income and expenditure, income earned from other employment, any rent you have earned, interest paid on loans, credit cards or other credit, income from overseas, income received from a partnership, any dividends received, Gift Aid received, benefits received from the state or an employer, capital gains recieved, pension contributions, and tax payments you have already made this year.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Get Your Accountant Registered
If you have an accountant or bookkeeper who will be filing your return for you, ask them to sign and register the 64-8 form that will allow them to do this in plenty of time. Filing this will make them officially recognised as your agent by HMRC, so they can act on your behalf. A specialist, such as Comprehensive High Net Worth Tax Assistance, can be a big help if you’re stressed about getting your return ready.
Know What You Need To Declare
Make sure you know what you need to declare, and check what information you might need. You might have a student loan that you need to pay back, or you might be claiming Child Benefit, for example. If there is any chance that your circumstances could have an affect on how much tax you will need to pay, you need to be on top of things, and have the details ready to declare.
Be Aware Of Possible Penalties
Submitting your return late can incur penalties, so be aware of those. Leave yourself plenty of time to get it done so you can avoid the late fees.
Check For Mistakes
When you have got everything together, check that you haven’t missed anything or made any mistakes. Once you’ve got everything ready, go through it carefully. Make sure there is nothing forgotten or that doesn’t add up.
With these tips, you can prepare for tax season and make the whole process less of a headache.
