Tax Returns

Submission dates and whether you need to complete one.

An overview

Notices to complete Self-Assessment tax returns are issued after April 5th each year. The notice requires the person named to complete a tax return declaring details of all their income and claims for allowances/reliefs for the year ended April 5th of that year.

The Tax Returns recently issued cover the income tax year from April 6th, 2022, to April 5th, 2023.

The following circumstances can lead to the requirement to complete a Self-Assessment tax return:

• You have total income, earned and unearned, in excess of £100,000.
• Share of profits as a partner in a business partnership.
• Income as a ‘sole trader’ in excess of £1000.
• Untaxed income from property, commissions, Savings, dividends, and foreign income.
• You need to claim certain income tax relief.
• If your income or that of your partner is in excess of £50,000, you will need to complete a tax return to pay the High-Income Child Benefit Charge.

Where you have not completed a tax return previously and any of the above circumstances apply for the year ended April 5th, 2023, and you have not yet notified HM Revenue & Customs, you should notify them as soon as possible.

Filing deadlines

The filing dates for 2023 Self-Assessment tax returns are as follows:

• Paper tax returns, October 31st, 2023.
• Online tax returns until January 31st, 2024.
• Where you wish to pay the tax you owe for the year, subject to a limit of £3,000, through your wages in a later tax year (December 31st, 2023).

Failure to meet these deadlines will result in an initial penalty of £100. These penalties will increase the longer your tax return remains outstanding. It is also important to remember that these penalties are non-refundable. Therefore, they will still stand even if, once the return is submitted, there is no tax to pay.

You can appeal against late filing penalties if you believe you have a reasonable excuse for the late filing of your tax return. Examples of a reasonable excuse include:

• Death of a partner or close relative shortly before the filing deadline.
• Ill health and hospitalisation prevented you from attending to your tax affairs.
• Postal delays/strikes that could not have been predicted.

Other examples of a reasonable excuse can be found on the HM Revenue & Customs website at www.gov.uk/tax-appeals/reasonable-excuses.

Tax returns are no longer required.

It is important that you notify HM Revenue & Customs if you believe that you no longer need to complete a tax return as soon as possible after your circumstances change.

If HM Revenue & Customs agrees, they will send you a letter confirming that you no longer need to file a return. It is important to keep this letter for your records.

Here are some of the reasons why you may no longer need to file a tax return:

• The source of untaxed income you were receiving (i.e., rental income, interest, dividends, etc.), which was the reason you needed to complete a tax return, has now ceased.
• You are no longer self-employed.
• You have retired.
• All your income will be taxed under PAYE.
• Your income is below the threshold to pay income tax,