When is the deadline for Self Assessment tax returns?

We’ve spoken to Sam Wood ACA, a Senior Manager in Tax Consulting at Albert Goodman.

Sam Wood qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2017 and has since specialised in providing accounting and tax advice to (mostly) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and owner-managed businesses.

Before joining Albert Goodman in July 2023, Sam worked for a regional accountancy practice in the South West before working at the UK’s leading specialist Research & Development tax credit consultancy for nearly five years.

At Albert Goodman, Sam specialises in providing R&D tax advice for SME & RDEC businesses in all sectors and in providing specialist consultancy advice. Beyond this, Sam sits in the Corporation Tax team, giving compliance and tax-planning advice for incorporated businesses across multiple sectors.

Let's dive in and look at what you need to know.

If you fit any of these profiles during the previous tax year, start preparing now.

• You were self-employed as a sole trader and earned in excess of £1000.

• You earned more than £100,000.

• You earned untaxed income (tips, commission, rental income, and so on).

There are many other situations where you might need to file a Self Assessment tax return – so keeping up with rule changes is a must.

Every tax year is 12 months long, but they don’t start in January and end in December, as you might expect.

Instead, tax years run from 6 April to 5 April. Accordingly, the 2023 to 2024 tax year ran from 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024.

This has been the standard format since the 19th century, so don’t expect it to change anytime soon.

There are actually several deadlines that you should know if you need to file a tax return for the 2023 to 2024 tax year. 

Registering for Self Assessment

If you have never filed a Self Assessment tax return before (or if you did not submit one for the previous tax year), you’ll need to let HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) know that you will be.

The deadline for this is 5 October 2024.

Submitting a paper tax return

Most people do their tax returns online, but if you plan on submitting a paper tax return, the deadline changes.

You must file any paper tax returns by 31 October 2024.

Tax returns using PAYE

If you are both employed and self-employed, it might be possible to pay any further taxes you owe via PAYE.

If that’s what you’d prefer, you must file your return by 30 December 2024.

Submitting an online return

This is the date that applies to most people. 

If you are submitting an online tax return, you must complete it by 31 January 2025. 

Some people are surprised to learn that the deadline for paying your taxes is the same as the online Self Assessment deadline – 31 January 2025. 

This is just one reason why it’s good to get your return filed well before this date rolls around. 

Most people also pay their National Insurance at the same time. There are several ways to pay, including weekly and monthly payments. And if you’re struggling to come up with the money on time, HMRC can help.

There are some specific situations where the payment deadline is different. If your circumstances are more complex, you might consider getting help from a local accountant.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

If you forget about these important deadlines, you might end up paying a fine for your trouble.

When you file your return up to three months late, you can expect to pay a £100 fine. The longer you fail to pay, the larger the fine becomes. 

They’ll also charge you interest on any late payments.

When you file your returns too slowly – or don’t do them at all – you pay increasingly steep penalties. Besides hurting your bank balance, this also causes lots of stress.

Here are a few simple tips for keeping ahead of problems:

• Start early

The earlier you start dealing with your taxes, the easier it will be. You’ll have more time to gather information and complete the return.

• Keep good records

You’ll find returns simpler if you keep clear records of your income and expenses from throughout the past tax year. If it’s too late for the most recent year, bear this in mind for the future.

Sam says "To support this, it is beneficial to have a record (list) of all the sources of income you have as well as a record (list) of any disposals of assets you have made.

"The more detail you have to supplement this, the better. For example, can you track the dates of when you received the income and when you sold specific assets?"

• Get help (if you need it)

If you’re struggling with filing your return, there’s nothing wrong with getting professional help. Finding an accountant who can handle your taxes makes it a much less stressful experience.

Expanding on this, Sam tells us that "Sometimes you will need to rely on third-parties to provide the exact information (e.g. solicitors or estate agents for property disposals, or banks and fund managers for providing summaries of share portfolios, and so on).

"It is important to collate all of this information and send it in altogether to help streamline the tax return preparation process – helping to reduce time and fees for your accountant or tax adviser."

You might dread dealing with your tax return, but it doesn’t have to be painful. If you prepare ahead of time and keep an eye on the important filing dates, everything should go smoothly.

With some final words of wisdom, Sam says "look to file your tax return as early as viable for two reasons.

"Firstly, this helps provide awareness of what a tax liability might be (and help plan for payment), but also secondly it can help to delay payment of a liability until nearer the deadline to benefit from potentially earning interest from a chosen bank account between filing the tax return and making payment of a liability."

Remember, if you’d prefer for someone else to handle your taxes, you have options. Chartered accountants can tackle any Self Assessment return with ease.

Make choosing a quality accounting service simple – browse the top accountants near you today. Alternatively, post a free enquiry to have local accountants contact you.