Self Assessment Returns - Permanent Employee

[coolguycp1]

I was working on my own LTD. company until June 2011, when I decided to switch to a permanent job. I subsequently closed down my LTD. company in 2011, and filed my self-assessment for FY 2011-12 using an accountant.

However, I have received a notice to file a Self-assessment return for FY2012-13. As far as I am aware, I do not have any other income except income from my permanent job for the FY 2012-13. My employer deducts any PAYE and NI due from my monthly salary.

I can only think of Child Benefit which is received by my partner in his account, and both his and my income for FY 2012-13 comes out between £50,000 and £60,000 each.

On the basis of the above info, am I still liable to file a self-assessment return for FY 2012-13? The accountant which I used last time is quoting me £200 to file, which I do not want to spend, unless it is mandatory.

Your views will be greatly appreciated.

[Clare@InTouch]

You may still need to file a return if you earn over £50k, receive child benefit, and are the higher earner.

If not, give HMRC a call to explain and they may well cancel the return. If not, it should be simple enough to do it yourself online if you only have PAYE and bank interest.

[amcdonald]

If it's that simple do it yourself, then phone up the revenue explain your situation that you're now a permie and hope they let you off filing a return next year

For a permie in your situation it should be simple to do

[VectraMan]

Find your P60 which you should have been given by your employer. Copy the two numbers from the P60 onto the online SA form. Done.

That's what your accountant is charging you £200 to do.

(You also need to include any bank interest if you have any).

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Any request to submit a SA from HMRC is mandatory, unless you can get them to withdraw the request, which I believe they have new legal powers to do.

Ring them up and explain - if they agree you do not need to submit one, they may well withdraw the request as it's not in their interest to clog the system up with unnecessary, nil SA returns.

As Clare said though, the child benefit situation might mean you need to do one.

Get signed up with HMRC's online self-assessment service and do it yourself. It really is easy to do if your affairs are simple. You'll fill out the main details, an employment sheet for your permie job, possibly some new boxes related to child benefit and it will calculate if you owe any tax (or if they owe you any).

[northernladuk]

Permie SA does not need an accountant as others have indicated.

[coolguycp1]

You may still need to file a return if you earn over £50k, receive child benefit, and are the higher earner.

I certainly meet two of the three criteria (earn over £50K gross, recieve child benefit-though it goes in my spouse's bank account), however, I may need to go and check if I am the higher earner.

In case I am not the higher earner in the household, will the responsbility of filing a tax return for declaring child benefit lie with my spouse then? He won't mind as he is running his own LTD. co. and pays for his accountant to do it anyways as part of his annual tax return.

[Clare@InTouch]

I certainly meet two of the three criteria (earn over £50K gross, recieve child benefit-though it goes in my spouse's bank account), however, I may need to go and check if I am the higher earner.

In case I am not the higher earner in the household, will the responsbility of filing a tax return for declaring child benefit lie with my spouse then? He won't mind as he is running his own LTD. co. and pays for his accountant to do it anyways as part of his annual tax return.

Yes, it's the higher earner that has to declare it and pay back any clawback.

You could always tell HMRC you don't want the benefit if you know you're going to have to pay it back anyway, but that may not be a good choice if things change. It can be better to claim and then repay (so view it as an interest-free loan) because if your circumstances change part way through a year you cannot backdate a claim. So if you don't claim but later realise you could have, you've lost the money.

[coolguycp1]

Thanks Clare.

While I go and check my income, do I need to re-register for SA or will the same UTR as last filed by my accountant (for FY 2011-12) will be applicable if I do need to file SA for FY 2012-13?

Also, I was calculating the Childcare Benefit Charge due using this website:-

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-calculator/main


With regards to the childcare vouchers, as I come under the higher rate tax band for FY2012-13, I was only entitled for £124 of childcare vouchers tax free, while I took a salary sacrifice to get another £119 paid to the voucher provider, so that I could pay a total of £243 via childcare voucher. Which figure should I, therefore, put in the calculator to find out my Childcare Benefit Charge?

[Clare@InTouch]

Thanks Clare.

While I go and check my income, do I need to re-register for SA or will the same UTR as last filed by my accountant (for FY 2011-12) will be applicable if I do need to file SA for FY 2012-13?

Also, I was calculating the Childcare Benefit Charge due using this website:-

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-calculator/main


With regards to the childcare vouchers, as I come under the higher rate tax band for FY2012-13, I was only entitled for £124 of childcare vouchers tax free, while I took a salary sacrifice to get another £119 paid to the voucher provider, so that I could pay a total of £243 via childcare voucher. Which figure should I, therefore, put in the calculator to find out my Childcare Benefit Charge?

Use the same UTR - it's like an NI number in that it never changes and is solely allocated to you, it's just for personal tax rather than PAYE. You'll use it in future if you ever need to do a tax return again too.

Put the whole £243 into the calculator as that's the amount you received, and the overall salary forgone.