Now that summer is sadly over and the winter months are in sight, it’s a perfect time to think about getting a head start on your self-assessment tax return.
Although this may not be the most appealing of ideas, you could save yourself a lot of hassle by persevering and making sure everything is wrapped up before you even start to think about Christmas.
At Whitley Stimpson, we believe that getting ahead of your taxes is a perfect way to reduce some avoidable stress. Here’s why you should get started on your self-assessment now.
Avoid stress and save time
A surprising number of taxpayers wait until the last minute to submit their annual returns. This year, more than 630,000 people waited until the deadline day to file their self-assessment with HMRC, with the peak hour falling between 4pm and 5pm on 31 January.
Of the 630,000, nearly 21,000 of those taxpayers waited until the final hour, narrowly missing the deadline and potential late-filing penalties.
Considering the self-assessment registration deadline falls on 5 October this year, that means taxpayers have over three months to submit their returns.
If you start on your return now, you’ll avoid the possibility of rushing to meet the deadlines. The feeling of going against the clock is panic-inducing at the best of times.
Also, putting your returns off until Christmas could add to the pressures of preparing for the festive period, if you celebrate it. You don’t want to spend time which could be spent with family poring over your tax return.
Save yourself some money
You don’t work year-round to end up giving more money away to HMRC than you have to. The earlier you pay your outstanding tax bill, the less interest you’ll incur. It makes sense just to get it over with.
Not only that, but the sooner you file your tax return, the sooner you’ll receive any potential tax refund you could be due.
As it’ll be quieter for HMRC around this time of year, your refund will be processed a lot faster, rather than with thousands of others closer to the deadline day.
You won’t only save money on what you’re owed, but you also cut off any risk of being issued late payment penalties.
If you miss the filing deadline, you will automatically be handed a £100 fine by HMRC. You will also end up paying interest on the unpaid tax balance as well as additional daily penalties until you file your tax return up to a maximum of £900.
Manage your cashflow
As mentioned, if you submit your tax return early, you will be more likely to receive your tax refund if you’ve overpaid. While it can be useful to have a bit of extra cash lying about, you will also be able to look at your cashflow, knowing you have money coming in.
Knowing this will allow you to look at investing the extra money in your business. This could be used to help you buy some new equipment, pay off any outstanding debts or even put some away in case of emergencies.
If you’ve sold assets
If you have sold a property which isn’t your main home, or higher-value assets, you’re likely to pay capital gains tax. If this is the case, you’ll need to include this sale in your self-assessment tax return, even if you have reported it under the 60-day deadline.
We’re here to help
It pays to get your accounts in order at the earliest possible moment. The team at Whitley Stimpson believes that preparation is the key to success.
So getting your self-assessment done early is the best way to make sure you’ve set yourself up for the coming tax year.
Get in touch to find out how we can help you with your self-assessment.