UK self employed tax deadline-how to avoid the penalty
UK warriors will probably know that the deadline for self assessment tax returns is 31 January.
The rules are basically as follows:
If you haven't been issued with a tax return but you have a tax liability for 2008/09 you should have told HMRC by 5th October last. They would then issue you with a tax return.
If you haven't done this you may be liable for a penalty of up to 100% of any tax due (yes, it could be a lot).
If you have been issued with a return you have until 31 January to file it online, otherwise you will get an automatic £100 late filing penalty.
One little known way of avoiding these penalties is to make a payment to HMRC before 31 January which more than covers the tax you owe for 2008/09.
The penalties I mention above cannot exceed the amount of tax you owe at 31 January. Therefore if you have paid all you owe there should be no penalty even if you can't file your return on time.This doesn't just apply to self employed tax - but to income tax in general .The £100 fine will be raised automatically when the date is missed but will be credited to your account when you ask HMRC to do so.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Paul
This does not constitute legal or professional advice.
The rules are basically as follows:
If you haven't been issued with a tax return but you have a tax liability for 2008/09 you should have told HMRC by 5th October last. They would then issue you with a tax return.
If you haven't done this you may be liable for a penalty of up to 100% of any tax due (yes, it could be a lot).
If you have been issued with a return you have until 31 January to file it online, otherwise you will get an automatic £100 late filing penalty.
One little known way of avoiding these penalties is to make a payment to HMRC before 31 January which more than covers the tax you owe for 2008/09.
The penalties I mention above cannot exceed the amount of tax you owe at 31 January. Therefore if you have paid all you owe there should be no penalty even if you can't file your return on time.This doesn't just apply to self employed tax - but to income tax in general .The £100 fine will be raised automatically when the date is missed but will be credited to your account when you ask HMRC to do so.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Paul
This does not constitute legal or professional advice.