HMRC - Self assessment form
Discussion
My self-assessment form cherry has been popped and HMRC have kindly sent me a letter indicating that i need to complete one. Otherwise i'll be breaking the law and will be fined, even if i don't need to fill one in.
Coincidently a few weeks ago i jumped on to the GOV site to check my NI contributions, and then this letter comes through the door.
I really should have trusted my gut feelings and not have bothered with the NI contribution checker. Oh well.
Anyhow, I'm PAYE, how painful are these self assessment forms and do i need an accountant to fill one out for me, so i don't have HMRC causing me grief?
It's somewhat familiar to this meme - When Jesus established the first HMRC service
Coincidently a few weeks ago i jumped on to the GOV site to check my NI contributions, and then this letter comes through the door.
I really should have trusted my gut feelings and not have bothered with the NI contribution checker. Oh well.
Anyhow, I'm PAYE, how painful are these self assessment forms and do i need an accountant to fill one out for me, so i don't have HMRC causing me grief?
It's somewhat familiar to this meme - When Jesus established the first HMRC service
Did mine the other day. If you have your P60 and P11D, and don’t make much (or anything) outside of PAYE it’s straightforward as all the numbers you need are on the Pxx forms mentioned above.
If you’ve got investments, rental income, etc. then you might benefit from help - I’m not in that lucky / unlucky position!
If you’ve got investments, rental income, etc. then you might benefit from help - I’m not in that lucky / unlucky position!
The key with SA completion being made straightforward is to keep all the relevant information together, and better still, keep it detailed on a spreadsheet. Then, when it comes to SA completion time, you just do the totals for the different types of income etc and fill in the relevant boxes. In my case I have a mix of State pension, private pension, one BIK, a couple of FIB, and I also get significant dividends from a small number of different shareholdings. All these are recorded in the spreadsheet as I receive relevant information. I do the same for gift aid payments. Completion of the SA takes me maybe 45 minutes, including sending to HMRC.
R.
R.
The Leaper said:
The key with SA completion being made straightforward is to keep all the relevant information together, and better still, keep it detailed on a spreadsheet. Then, when it comes to SA completion time, you just do the totals for the different types of income etc and fill in the relevant boxes. In my case I have a mix of State pension, private pension, one BIK, a couple of FIB, and I also get significant dividends from a small number of different shareholdings. All these are recorded in the spreadsheet as I receive relevant information. I do the same for gift aid payments. Completion of the SA takes me maybe 45 minutes, including sending to HMRC.
R.
Is this a self made spreadsheet or is there a template available on line? I'm looking for something similar.R.
I just made a note of what information I needed to supply the first year I did one and built one from there.
Each year gets a new column, which also means I can easily compare and see if anything has changed dramatically year on year, which adds a degree of reassurance when I press submit.
Each year gets a new column, which also means I can easily compare and see if anything has changed dramatically year on year, which adds a degree of reassurance when I press submit.
Think yourself lucky only getting one. I was PAYE and got one unexpected in the post at the time. I called HMRC to explain my PAYE position and they then mentioned there’s another two coming as we’re going back 3yrs! I can still remember the resulting phone call, debit card in hand where I was relieved of a few thousand.
After about 4yrs they then decided I didn’t need to do one, just at the point I’d got the hang of it. With one income and taxable savings/investments it got quite easy after April when the relevant info came to hand.
I might be doing some consulting next year under IR35 so SA will be starting again
albeit I’m wondering if it’s worth all the hassle
After about 4yrs they then decided I didn’t need to do one, just at the point I’d got the hang of it. With one income and taxable savings/investments it got quite easy after April when the relevant info came to hand.
I might be doing some consulting next year under IR35 so SA will be starting again
albeit I’m wondering if it’s worth all the hassle wong said:
The Leaper said:
The key with SA completion being made straightforward is to keep all the relevant information together, and better still, keep it detailed on a spreadsheet. Then, when it comes to SA completion time, you just do the totals for the different types of income etc and fill in the relevant boxes. In my case I have a mix of State pension, private pension, one BIK, a couple of FIB, and I also get significant dividends from a small number of different shareholdings. All these are recorded in the spreadsheet as I receive relevant information. I do the same for gift aid payments. Completion of the SA takes me maybe 45 minutes, including sending to HMRC.
R.
Is this a self made spreadsheet or is there a template available on line? I'm looking for something similar.R.
R.
bunchofkeys said:
Thank you for the feedback, so far they only want April 2022 to April 2023.
I did switch jobs in July 2022, all PAYE, so maybe it's because of that?
Hopefully i won't have to waste too much time on it.
Won’t be rude enough to ask what you’re earning, but you have to complete a self assessment if you’re earning more than £100k even as PAYE, unfortunately!I did switch jobs in July 2022, all PAYE, so maybe it's because of that?
Hopefully i won't have to waste too much time on it.
Out of interest how do you show business expenses on SA?
For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
Armitage.Shanks said:
Out of interest how do you show business expenses on SA?
For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
Is it public or private sector? Typically HMRC are really stringent with expenses as your seen as an employee and there's next to nothing you can claim. For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
Armitage.Shanks said:
Out of interest how do you show business expenses on SA?
For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
Business expenses do not apply to employees - for the simple reason that an employee is not "in business on their own account". What CAN be claimed are work related expenses incurred wholly, exclusively and NECESSARILY for the purpose of the employment.For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
The problem word is "necessarily" as the expense must have been a compulsory cost that the employee HAD to pay. If they pay for a job related cost (like buying their own Tippex
) as a matter of choice or convenience, then they cannot claim for that cost. Eric Mc said:
Armitage.Shanks said:
Out of interest how do you show business expenses on SA?
For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
Business expenses do not apply to employees - for the simple reason that an employee is not "in business on their own account". What CAN be claimed are work related expenses incurred wholly, exclusively and NECESSARILY for the purpose of the employment.For example I might take on a consultancy job under IR35 so I’ll be paid gross. Mileage will be I suspect at HMRC rates and and hotels/foods will be paid by them so that’s all straightforward. I know I could technically claim for wear and tear using my own vehicle but the juice isn’t worth the squeeze I suspect. But I need a laptop to do the job so if I buy one at £1,000 what do you claim and show?
The problem word is "necessarily" as the expense must have been a compulsory cost that the employee HAD to pay. If they pay for a job related cost (like buying their own Tippex
) as a matter of choice or convenience, then they cannot claim for that cost. Armitage.Shanks said:
I won’t be an employee I’ll effectively be a contractor paid a day rate and paid accommodation and food if away from home. The ‘job’ says I need a laptop, I haven’t got one so will need to buy one. That in my mind is an essential expense at my cost but for their need and in which case they’re not supplying one I should be able to claim that as an expense?
You need to familiarise yourself with the whys and wherefores of being a contractor. It goes way beyond SA. You'lll effectively be operating a limited company, and submitting company accounts every year. These are somewhat obscure, and make Self Assessment look like a year 3 class test.It depends if you're inside or outside IR35. There's a lot of complexity but very simply:
If outside you'll want to set up a company and the company will buy your laptop. If you've not done this before get an accountant that specialises in PSCs at least long enough to get you set up.
If inside you'll most likely need to have an umbrella company to do your payroll and employer tax contributions. Talk to them about expenses.
If outside you'll want to set up a company and the company will buy your laptop. If you've not done this before get an accountant that specialises in PSCs at least long enough to get you set up.
If inside you'll most likely need to have an umbrella company to do your payroll and employer tax contributions. Talk to them about expenses.
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