Tax. Self assessment

Boadicea

I am currently in a battle with HMRC:
I did my online self assessment and on Jan 30th made the payment to the account they told me to.
Ever since then I have been getting letters telling me I haven't paid and adding interest, but also saying if I had paid I could ignore the letter, which I did initially but as it had been going on for months I sent them a screenshot of my bank payment receipt (the money had gone out of my account on Jan 31st)
Then I got a threatening letter from a debt collection agency - at the same time as two identical letters from HMRC stating that they had received my payment of £XXX on Jan 31st from (last 4 digits of my bank account) and if I wanted it to be allocated to the correct department (not the one they told me to pay it into???) to give them the following information:
The amount (which they had just quoted), the account it was paid to and from (which they had just quoted), the date and reference number (which they had just quoted)!

So I phoned the HMRC (took about 20 minutes to get through) and actually got through to a sympathetic person who took the details and said he will make sure it is sorted for me.

We'll see!

Oh my God! how annoying.

I've got to do one and reading your post will make me take great care in ensuring that I keep detailed records of everything.

I moved to online self-assessment a couple of years ago with no regrets. It works well for me. Partner's is still on paper and likely to remain so given lack of online skill and problems understanding tax system.

My husband died in 2004. Since then got £29.56 per month since March 2004 from a private pension he had didn't have to any tax. All his other private pensions because he was 47 paid out lump sums its just this one pension that didn't.

I just have my state pension in my own right . Because of my husbands £29.56 I am now £53 over the limit for tax year 26/27 and now have to pay tax. They are going to take £6.60 per month out of the £29.56 . I have just got off the HMRC and told that is correct .

OK. fumble fingers: "handy"

I use TaxCalc for my self assessment. It keeps all the earlier info you inputted which can be hand.

I just remembered to pay a lump sum due by 31/07 this year. Its a forward payment towards next years bill. While on site I made very sure to be enrolled for paper correspondence. I don`t want to be logging onto gov gateway just to check on future payments

That must be a relief and well done for being so well organised.

I received a letter yesterday saying I need to complete a self-assessment form. Have never completed one before. Am waiting for an answer as to why and am dreading a massive bill.

Posters have given me some invaluable information above. Thank you.

Allsorts, as Cabbie advises, de-register. It is easily done via the HMRC website. De-registering brings huge relief when that letter arrives saying that we no longer need to do self assessment

Personally I am using a fixed rate cash isa when I can, reducing taxable savings. I am keeping the isas in case I need care when older but even the fixed rate isas can usually be cashed, with a penalty, if there is an urgent cashflow problem

www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings#:~:text=You%20may%20also%20get%20up,is%20your%20Personal%20Savings%20Allowance.

If you have income below £15,750 there is potentially a further £5000 of interest from savings which is not taxed.

Also, for Basic Rate tax payers, there is the Personal Savings Allowance of £1000 of interest where tax is 0%.

Interest not covered by these allowances is taxed at 20%, which will increase to 22% from April 2027. More for Higher Rate taxpayers.

Allsorts, I don’t know why you are doing SA. Maybe look into it and de-register?

Tax Allowance, £12570.00 any income over that taxable at 20%. don't know how I became Self Assessment but I work it out and pay, mine is straightforward, just my pension.

I am currently in a battle with HMRC:
I did my online self assessment and on Jan 30th made the payment to the account they told me to.
Ever since then I have been getting letters telling me I haven't paid and adding interest, but also saying if I had paid I could ignore the letter, which I did initially but as it had been going on for months I sent them a screenshot of my bank payment receipt (the money had gone out of my account on Jan 31st)
Then I got a threatening letter from a debt collection agency - at the same time as two identical letters from HMRC stating that they had received my payment of £XXX on Jan 31st from (last 4 digits of my bank account) and if I wanted it to be allocated to the correct department (not the one they told me to pay it into???) to give them the following information:
The amount (which they had just quoted), the account it was paid to and from (which they had just quoted), the date and reference number (which they had just quoted)!

So I phoned the HMRC (took about 20 minutes to get through) and actually got through to a sympathetic person who took the details and said he will make sure it is sorted for me.

We'll see!

I had a nightmare with self assessment paying tax as I didn't realise I was supposed to for something I sold. I rang them, told the truth, filled out the forms and they rejected it twice. I kept asking how much they wanted but they wouldn't tell me. In the end they sent forms with all the figures on, interest, penalty charge etc and 3rd attempt it went through. It was about £300 less than what I tried to pay which they refunded! I had an accountant years ago who did everything for me but trying to do this myself was so difficult. My advise is pay an accountant it's not worth the stress.

Know how U feel.. it was easier before I retired 2 yrs ago .. but now am paying tax on Pensions so why did I keep working till nearly 70😩

Thank you everyone for helpful suggestions. I just know I must be brave and get down to it! I have never had any trouble with tax people but somehow they strike fear into my heart+ and I am terrified of getting it wrong.

I'm in awe of all you! I pay an accountant because I'm rather afraid of numbers and panic that I'll get everything wrong. I'm self employed but don't have any sensible pensions. I salute you.

My assessment notification has all my pensions listed. From this year the building societies are notifying taxable interest, so I pay what is notified in arrears and an assessment going forward. HMRC do this all for me, so I never need to fill in a self-assessment form

Cabbie, I do get that. But when income is derived from different pensions and savings, I find I prefer paper.

Romola, I find it easy to do online as it works it all out as you go, prompts you with what you need to do and tells you when you can jump to section 14 or whatever. You can save a draft and come back to it.
Sleepy, people who don’t need to do SA for other reasons don’t need to worry about their tax on interest as the banks do inform HMRC eventually. But I don’t ever find out what those figures are. Anyway, I’ve never been told I have under-declared, so I don’t worry.

I got myself into a state with this but was told by the bank that banks notify HMRC so no need to do anything I did ask the 2 banks I use for a certificate of interest paid April to April. I recd a letter from HMRC saying I owed from last year as well and it would be incorporated into this year and the amount I owed. After going round in circles I finally got very close to figure HMRC came to. I also phoned HMRC to ask what interest was taken into account to get to the final figure when they explained I could understand better. Then sorting out how to pay was not easy eventually was given a number I could pay by telephone. They could not send me a receipt of payment but I could find it online under recent payments or ask the bank to find the payment and print something out. I made my own simple notes as to how figures added up. Made a clear folder with all relevant papers in it so much easier next year. I hope! Ps I also arranged a standing order to pay in each month so the sum would be covered for next year. If more than needed it will go into my holiday account….. hope this helps

For me, I download and print the form and fill it all in pencil, altering and adding up as required. I mark with a note all the documents I've dealt with
When I'm happy I've got all the information required on the downloaded form, it doesn't take long to copy onto the online form and submit the SA online.
I did both my own and DH's tax returns like this for years, but I admit that the year after he died, things were more complicated. I asked the accountant, who used to do his company's accounts, to do my tax return.

My comment above was in response to mouse44.

You don't really need to download a form. When you register you can actually go straight to filling the details on your account online. It will usually bounce you back if you miss something. You will also get the opportunity at different stages to check your details before you finally file the return. you will also be able to see what tax you owe or are due back at the end too so if something is glaringly incorrect you can review.

Just make sure you have the relevant details to hand. Also that you enter the correct figures eg if it asks for gross as opposed to net figures. Worth trying to fill the form in to get the feel of it.

I would love to advise but I’m not the best person to do that, though I have no trouble finding mine.
I have done SA ever since I started receiving a tiny French pension. Now I have to include savings interest too. I wish all banks and building societies provided the information promptly and easily accessible. With a few, it is quite an effort and I keep hoping I haven’t missed any. Although I get an annual statement of my French pension it is for a calendar year, not a UK tax year. So a bit more effort needed.

thank you dear Gransnet for having a thread on this subject. I have become almost hysterical with stress and fear about mine! When I worked, long ago, I was self-employed and did my own tax assessment on a nice paper form. A couple of years after I stopped working, the tax people said no need for tax forms so i have enjoyed some carefree years. My husband died 3 years ago and I inherited parts of his pensions (all paid with tax deducted) and his savings and now the tax people have asked for the last three years of returns. I am not brilliant at technology but set off, gathered what I thought they would need, and got a gateway number but I just couldn't find out how to download a form to fill in. I went round and round, trying to ask their bots, who seem singularly stupid (even more than I am). I decided to start again and again but I just don't know what to do. I feel so ridiculous and pathetic. I wake up in the morning determined to attack the problem but feel so wretched I start procrastinating for Britain. I would be so grateful if anyone could just explain clearly what I have to do.

I self assess through Government Gateway. Although the deadline to submit and pay is 31 January following the end of the tax year, I like to get mine done early, asap after 5 April. My tax affairs are straightforward.

It’s much easier nowadays with online pension portals providing P60 data and banks and building societies providing online certificates for taxable interest. Any other income, SP, dividends, some freelance earnings which are not taxed at source, I keep a record of throughout the year.

HMRC know what SP someone has as DWP tell them but it's worth noting that you are assessed not on what you receive in the tax year but what is due. That's because SP is paid in arrear.

The SP is increased from the first Monday falling after 6 April but because it's paid in arrear, depending on payment date, you could receive one four-weekly payment at the old rate and 12 four-weekly payments at the new rate. The amount you need to return is 13 x the new rate as that is what is due.

So long as you have all the data to hand when you log into Gateway, the step-by-step self-assessment process is easy. I usually file mine late at night or in the early hours when I know I won't be disturbed.

2024/25 took about 30 minutes including double and triple checking everything. The HMRC statement agreeing liability arrived a week later.

The HMRC investigation time limit is 4 years if an innocent error is suspected. Where mistakes in tax returns are deemed careless or negligent, the window extends to 6 years. Suspicion of deliberate tax evasion warrants an investigation period of 20 years.