Do I need to fill in Self Assessment?!

[rpuchalka]

Hi all,

At the end of August I changed from an employed role to being self employed. From speaking to many people I get different answers and was hoping for some clarity! Do i need to fill in the SA form before the end of Jan or not!?! Many people have told me they are completing their SA for the year 17-18 this January - in that case I was employed then so I don't need to fill in SA this Jan?!
I rang HMRC and the lady said that I do need to complete a SA form - which contradicts what most people have told me!!!

Thanks in advance for the help!

[LimaDelta]

January 2019 is the deadline for the April 2017 to April 2018 tax year.

[skeeterm5]

rpuchalka said:

Hi all,

At the end of August I changed from an employed role to being self employed. From speaking to many people I get different answers and was hoping for some clarity! Do i need to fill in the SA form before the end of Jan or not!?! Many people have told me they are completing their SA for the year 17-18 this January - in that case I was employed then so I don't need to fill in SA this Jan?!
I rang HMRC and the lady said that I do need to complete a SA form - which contradicts what most people have told me!!!

Thanks in advance for the help!

You rang HRMC and they said you need to do it........ surely you have your answer??

[JulianPH]

skeeterm5 said:

rpuchalka said:

Hi all,

At the end of August I changed from an employed role to being self employed. From speaking to many people I get different answers and was hoping for some clarity! Do i need to fill in the SA form before the end of Jan or not!?! Many people have told me they are completing their SA for the year 17-18 this January - in that case I was employed then so I don't need to fill in SA this Jan?!
I rang HMRC and the lady said that I do need to complete a SA form - which contradicts what most people have told me!!!

Thanks in advance for the help!

You rang HRMC and they said you need to do it........ surely you have your answer??

Only part of the answer.

The OP will need to complete a SA return, but not until January next year as the change in status occurred in the current tax year.

So, OP, you have no need to complete one this January (which would be for the 2017-2018 tax year), but you will next January (for the 2018-2019 tax year).

[Eric Mc]

January is the filing deadline. It is much better if you can file your self assessment tax return well before 31 January.
Also, 31 January is also the date before which you have to pay any self assessment income tax and Class /Class 4 NI arising from your self employment profits. So, the earlier you put the figures together, the sooner you will have to ensure you have enough to pay the tax bill. It's not nice finding out on 30 January what you have to pay by midnight the next day.

So, as your first self assessment tax year is tax year 2018/19, your filing deadline is actually 31 January 2020. But you can file the tax return any time after 5 April 2019 if you want to.

And finally, be aware of the requirement to make Payments on Account for the tax liability of the following year. The first of these Payments on Account is also payable on 31 January 2020 - so it can make the 31 January payment a bit hard on your cash flow - especially if you haven't anticipated the full amount due (i.e. liability for 2018/19 and 1st Payment on Account for 2019/20).

[JulianPH]

Eric Mc said:

January is the filing deadline. It is much better if you can file your self assessment tax return well before 31 January.
Also, 31 January is also the date before which you have to pay any self assessment income tax and Class /Class 4 NI arising from your self employment profits. So, the earlier you put the figures together, the sooner you will have to ensure you have enough to pay the tax bill. It's not nice finding out on 30 January what you have to pay by midnight the next day.

So, as your first self assessment tax year is tax year 2018/19, your filing deadline is actually 31 January 2020. But you can file the tax return any time after 5 April 2019 if you want to.

And finally, be aware of the requirement to make Payments on Account for the tax liability of the following year. The first of these Payments on Account is also payable on 31 January 2020 - so it can make the 31 January payment a bit hard on your cash flow - especially if you haven't anticipated the full amount due (i.e. liability for 2018/19 and 1st Payment on Account for 2019/20).

Good points Eric

I was only considering the deadlines (as this was what the OP appeared to be asking about). You are, as always, completely correct in pointing out that waiting for the deadline is usually not the best course of action.

Cheers

Julian

Edited as for some unkown reason I called Eric Derek! In my defence I work daily with a guy called Derek who may have been talking to me when I posted this!

Edited by JulianPH on Wednesday 23 January 14:20

[Eric Mc]

There can be times when there might be some strategic ulterior motive to filing the return as late as possible - but on the whole, earlier submission is usually the best option.

[rpuchalka]

Thanks all, this clears it up for me!