You’re probably wondering, why bother doing your taxes now when you’ve got ages before you need to? In fact, you don’t even need to be registered yet for another month.
Loads of time, right? That may well be the case, but before you know it, you’ll be snowed under with work, and your tax return will still be looming over you.
Now the summer’s over, the next few months will go by faster than you think – to avoid stress, here’s why you should complete your self-assessment return now.
It just makes sense to do things early
More than 630,000 people submitted their 2021/2022 returns on the January 31st deadline, with 20,947 people waiting until the very final hour.
This is crazy! The amount of stress this will put you under, irrespective of whether you use an accountant or not, is something we wouldn’t wish on anyone.
So, as your accountant and adviser, we’d like to clarify how important it is to get upfront with your tax return.
Once you’ve got your return done and dusted, you’ll have loads of time to spend working on your business, goals, and time with your family and friends.
Mind those deadlines
Online tax returns must be submitted by 31 January, with any tax due on that deadline too.
If you’re registering as self-employed, make sure your forms are sent by the 5 October deadline. September and October tend to ramp up again as business months, with workloads increasing as people get back from their holidays.
You don’t want to be caught out and be clamouring to register at the eleventh hour. Get your forms in early.
Avoid penalties
You’ll get a penalty if you need to send a tax return and you miss the deadline for submitting it or paying your bill.
You’ll have to pay a penalty of £100 if your tax return is up to 3 months late and maybe even more if it’s later, or if you pay your tax bill late.
And of course, you’ll be charged interest by HMRC on late payments. Not good at all.
You may be able to appeal against a penalty if you have a reasonable excuse, but it’s not worth getting to this stage unless your hands really were tied.
Let’s chat
It’s so easy to put things off, especially when you think you have time. But our honest advice is to be wary of ‘free time’. Use it to your advantage, and get your self-assessment return done as early as you can.
Get in touch with us today and we’ll talk to you about what you need to get you ahead of the crowd and on top of your return.
