Your self-assessment tax for the UK is a serious task which needs to be done accurately and timely; if you are a self-employed professional who between the period of April 6th 2018 and April 5th 2019 earned over £1,000 you must file that self-assessment tax form to HMRC online or using a UK tax agent like taxback.co.uk. If you’re self-employed the good news is that you’ll only need to pay tax if you earned over £11,500.
Now, we know this is a rather confusing and time-consuming task for you freelancers and self-employed folks, which is why the following tips will help you prepare for your UK self assessment tax return.
Get help with Your Self-assessment Tax for the UK – Hire an Accountant
Yes, it’s as simple as that! Hiring the services of a qualified accountant is the ticket in getting that self-assessment for tax done right. Accountants, unlike some freelancers and self-employed people, know which beneficial deductions to make, such as which means you maximise your tax refund and the amount of tax you have to pay.
Here are a few key points of things you can claim on your UK self assessment tax return.
• Depreciation of indispensable equipment your home-based business will be using.
• Use of your home based office space.
• Adding a percentage of your utility bills as overhead costs to your business.
• Having a professional tax consultant is key; when submitting an accurate self-assessment tax return in the UK, and for not over paying than what is due.
Make Sure You are Registered with HMRC
Register yourself with HMRC and avoid any problems you may have with regards to your self-assessed tax returns. As you start your new business, make sure to jot down ‘register with HMRC’ as a priority amongst coming up with an awesome website, getting your workspace together and printing business cards, you get it right, registering with HMRC is part of the procedure when setting up your own business; plus, you are not liable to ‘get caught out’ at the end of the tax year when HMRC comes knocking at your door.
Don’t Ignore the Tax Return Deadlines
There are two deadlines, one for a paper return and one for an online tax return. The latter is set to a later date, generally January 31 st following the end of a tax year, which also happens to be when you must pay your tax. It’s no light matter if by February you have still not filed your tax returns, you could be facing an ‘initial’ 100 pound fine; more could follow!
Your Self-Assessment Tax Return Must Be All-Inclusive Don’t hold back, it’s wrong to assume that HMRC will not be focusing on your small time eBay
businesses, for instance, they do receive updates of all these little deals and ventures. In 2018 eBay released the UK retail accounts which showed over 1065 UK based retailers who clocked in a turnover of over 1 million pounds in just UK based sales. So, hold nothing back, list it all and save yourself the trouble of getting fined and penalised.