Self Assessment

If you are a company director, landlord, sole trader, or have income outside PAYE, you likely need to file a Self Assessment tax return. We prepare and file it for you, capturing income from all sources, claiming every allowable expense and relief, and making sure it is submitted before the 31 January deadline.

No last-minute panic, no missed allowances, and no penalties. We tell you exactly what to pay and when.

Do you need to file a Self Assessment return?

You generally need to file if you are:

• Self-employed or a partner in a partnership;
• A company director with untaxed income;
• A landlord receiving rental income;
• A higher earner, or someone with significant dividends, savings, capital gains or foreign income;
• Affected by the High Income Child Benefit Charge, which brings many otherwise straightforward PAYE employees into Self Assessment for the first time.

If you are not sure, ask us, getting it wrong in either direction is costly.

The deadlines that matter

• 5 October, register with HMRC if this is your first return;
• 31 October, deadline for paper returns;
• 31 January, online return and any balancing payment due;
• 31 July, second payment on account.

Miss the filing deadline and HMRC charges an immediate £100 penalty even if no tax is owed, with daily penalties and interest mounting after that.

Payments on account: the bill that surprises everyone

Your first Self Assessment demand is often around 150% of the tax you expected, because it includes both the balancing payment and the first instalment towards next year. Each payment on account is half of the previous year liability, and they are not required if your prior-year bill was under £1,000 or more than 80% of your tax was collected at source.

If your income is falling you can apply to reduce them, though reducing too far triggers interest. Our guide to payments on account explains the mechanics and the budgeting fix.

What we handle for you

We gather your income from every source, calculate your liability, and make sure you claim all the allowable expenses and reliefs you are entitled to, pension contributions, Gift Aid, the marriage allowance and more. We file online with HMRC and give you a clear breakdown of what to pay and when.

We also file early by default. Filing in, say, the summer does not bring the payment date forward, it simply means you know the figure months ahead, which is the difference between planning for a bill and being ambushed by one.

Landlords, capital gains and cryptoassets

Some sources need particular care. Rental profits interact with the finance-cost restriction and the abolition of the furnished holiday let regime. Selling UK residential property triggers a separate 60-day reporting and payment deadline that runs well ahead of your return, covered in the 60-day rule. And cryptoasset disposals have their own pooling rules, set out in crypto CGT. We handle all three.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Self Assessment is changing. MTD for Income Tax introduces digital record-keeping and quarterly updates for sole traders and landlords, phased in by income level. If you are in scope, the shift is from one annual return to a rhythm of quarterly submissions, which needs software and a habit rather than a January scramble. See MTD for Income Tax, and we will tell you when it applies to you.

Reducing the bill, not just reporting it

A return prepared well is accurate. A return prepared early is useful, because it leaves time to act. Where there is scope to reduce next year through pension contributions, timing or structure, we raise it while it can still be done, which connects directly to our tax planning service.