Self assessment tip 3: Check, then check again

If you are required to submit a tax return for the year ended 5 April 2017 the submission and payment deadline is 31 January 2018. Here is the third of our top 5 tips to help get things right and beat the January rush.

Getting things right really is important, and even more so in the modern era of HMRC being able to obtain income information directly from a number of UK and international sources. Check the checklist from your accountant or the HMRC tax return helpsheets (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/self-assessment-helpsheets-main-self-assessment-tax-return) carefully to ensure that you have included all sources of income on the tax return. Working on this early will allow you the time to put it down and come back to it later with a fresh mind too!

HMRC have the right to charge penalties where a mistake can be attributed to careless actions, whereas in the past this was only possible where they could show that your actions were negligent or deliberate. This means that if there is an underpayment of tax as a result of some omitted income because it was simply forgotten HMRC could charge a penalty of up to 30% of the underpaid tax. Any penalty is in addition to paying the underpaid tax and late payment interest.

Penalties can be suspended for isolated incidents, where the tax payer can demonstrate how this error will not be repeated or where the tax payer has reasonably relied on the advice of an appointed advisor however.

If you still need to do your self assessment tax return and would like to find out how we can help please contact me on ben.sheils@microbusinessteam.com or visit our website at www.microbusinessteam.com.