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Should I be thinking about doing my Self Assessment now?

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    Should I be thinking about doing my Self Assessment now?

    Hi all,

    Last year, around 980,000 filed their Self Assessment on the last day of filing deadline day last year. Paper filing deadline day is only just over 2 weeks away and as soon as it hits 12am on the 1st February 2017 and you've not filed, you receive an immediate £100 fine. I think it might be a good time to start thinking about doing a self assessment? Especially before we all get busy with Christmas!

    If you file your Self Assessment in January and find that you don’t have enough money to pay your tax bill, we all are aware that HMRC will charge interest on your late payment. If you file early your tax bill isn’t due until January 31st meaning you’ll have time to budget and save for any tax that you may owe.

    If you’ve ever needed to call HMRC in January you’ll be familiar with their waiting times stretching to hours in busy periods. Filing early will mean you can avoid the rush and get direct help from HMRC without having to take time out of your busy day waiting for them to pick up. I rang HMRC a few weeks ago and was only waiting on the phone for about 5 minutes! I was so surprised that they picked up so quickly!

    You may have overpaid tax meaning HMRC owes you money. If you file early, HMRC could pay back your rebate just in time for Christmas! This will also diminish the worry that many business owners feel over the Christmas period thinking about doing their Self Assessment as soon as the celebrations are over and we already feel pretty glum in January as it is!

    If this is the first year that you've filed a self assessment, you might find that there are lots of difficulties that you may not be aware of when it comes to filing your Self Assessment, sometimes it’s a good idea to ask an accountant to take a look at it for you. Accountants can get very busy in the run up to Self Assessment time so asking them early will guarantee they can allocate time to have a look at yours. It’s a good idea to find an accountant to suit you and your business needs. Sometimes cheaping out on an accountant can cost you more money, so just be careful!

    Just a couple of reasons to get you thinking of that dreaded tax return! Good luck! If you have any questions about your tax return, post below and I'll try and answer your questions!

    Charlotte

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