With our increasingly busy lifestyles, we all wonder where 2007 went. So, it's no great surprise to find that 84* people took an hour out of Christmas day last year to file their tax returns online.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP offers us a helping hand to get started and ensure you avoid the £100 penalty by getting your tax return in and any tax paid by the 31 January 2008 deadline.
Leonie Kerswill, tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, says “Unless you are one of the 84 people who filled in their tax return online on Christmas Day last year, you probably find that getting your tax return in tends to slip down the priority list over the festive period. After the expense of Christmas it would be a shame to incur a £100 fine for not getting your tax return in on time, so the sooner you get the form in the better. Preparation is key so get your information together before you start and if you need help, ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or a qualified tax adviser. And do remember that you have to pay your tax – plus any payment on account due – it’s not just about getting the form in.”
PwC's top tips for filling in your tax return
DO
• Read all the questions carefully
• Get all relevant paperwork together – such as P60s and P11Ds - before starting
• Make sure the benefits listed tie up to the P11D (Benefits Statement) and that appropriate expense claims are made
• Remember that not all benefits are taxable. Although State Pensions and Job Seekers Allowance are, benefits such as Child Benefit are not
• Include personal pension payments
• List Gift Aid payments and any other charitable donations and enter the amounts that were actually given
• Make sure the bank or building society interest received plus the tax that has been deducted (usually 20%) add up to the gross amount;
• Register for the HMRC online filing system by the 22 January to ensure the activation pin is sent out in time. This useful system automatically calculates the tax bill
DON’T
• Miss out any questions that are set • Forget to sign the form and keep a copy
• Enter income from ISAs or PEPs
• Forget to attach all the supplementary pages eg employment or land and property sheets
• Leave it until the last minute - mistakes are more likely to be made if the process is rushed. The online filing system also gets very busy during the last two weeks before the deadline
• Forget to tick the box if a repayment is due and include the bank account details where the money should be sent to
• Include normal pension contributions or associated Additional Voluntary Contributions made to an employer’s pension fund
• Forget that any tax owed needs to be paid by 31 January – it’s not just a case of getting the form in
• Miss out any questions that are set 1. *figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
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Unless otherwise indicated, 'PricewaterhouseCoopers' refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (www.pwc.com/uk) a limited liability partnership incorporated in England. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited.
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