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HMRC use Self Assessment to calculate the tax on your income. Tax is usually deducted automatically from wages, pensions, and savings but if you receive further income, it’s important to report this to HMRC by sending a Self Assessment tax return each year. 

You need to send a tax return if (in the last tax year) you were: 

• Self-employed with income over £1,000 (before taking off anything that can be claimed through tax relief) 
• A property owner with income from renting out property for over £2,5000 after allowable expenses or more than £9,999 before allowable expenses 
• Left with untaxed earnings of more than £2,500  
• An investor with savings or investments over £10,000 before tax 
• An LTD Director of a for-profit company 
• Earning over £50,00 and claiming child benefits 
• A UK resident with foreign income 
• Have taxable income over £100,000
• A trustee of trusts of registered pension schemes
• If you’re state pension is the only source of income is higher than your personal allowance
• Making profit from selling shares or a second home 

You can fill in your tax return online or by a paper form. You can submit it any time from the first day of the following tax year (from 6 April 2022), In fact, 63,500 people did this in 2021 according to HMRC. 

HMRC is giving Self Assessment taxpayers an additional month to complete 2020 to 2021 tax returns and pay tax due to ease COVID-19 pressures. 

Returns must be filed by 28 February 2022 latest to avoid late filing penalties.  

Self Assessment tax has to be paid, or a Time to Pay arrangement must be set up by 1 April 2022 latest to avoid late payment penalties. To arrange Time to Pay you need to speak to HMRC – although there’s no late payment, interest will still apply to your outstanding amount as of 1 February at a rate of 2.75% until the bill is paid. 

All 3 packages (Start, Standard, and Plus) give you the fundamental features you need to manage your accounting.  

• Accounting Start: If you’re a non-VAT registered sole trader or just starting out with a new business then Account Start is a great choice. Comes with simple bookkeeping requirements and single-user access. 
• Accounting Standard: Perfect if you’re VAT-registered and self-employed, a service provider with quoting and estimation needs, CIS-registered, or if you need to share access with more than one user (with your accountant, for example). 
• Accounting Plus: This includes all of the functionality within Accounting Standard but it’s also great for stock-based businesses, businesses with cross-border services or sales, and professionals with foreign bank accounts.  

To accurately fill in your tax return, it’s important to keep records of:  

• Personal financial records like bank statements, certificates of loans, receipts of payments 
• Documents you have signed or been given like personal pension plan certificates, birth or marriage certificates 
• Benefits and expenses related to your income like P60s, P45s, annual pension statements, notes of taxable receipts and benefits 
• Expenses claimed against your earnings or reductions of your employer’s calculation of your benefits like receipts, credit card statements, mileage details, purchase records 

To effectively keep track of key information in preparation of your Self Assessment, you can use tools like Sage Accounting to centralise, digitise, and automate the capture of important data so that it’s easier and clearer to fill out your tax return. 

With software like Sage Accounting, you can better prepare for your Self Assessment tax return, whether you do it yourself or work with an accountant. All the information you need to declare is kept accurate, compliant, and digitised in one place. You can also use Sage Accounting to work more collaboratively with your accountant, sharing real-time information in a secure way – and you can use clear financial information to plan your tax year together. 

Sage Accounting helps you capture, categorise, and automate data for your Self Assessment tax return in one place. Get ready for the April 2024 deadline today by keeping digital records and optimising your self-employment income with Sage Accounting.  

• Stay compliant and get total peace of mind that your tax return data is accurate 
• Plan your tax year effectively with up-to-date information 
• Store the relevant information for the right amount of time
• Automate bank reconciliation and upload receipts or documents to Sage Accounting for faster and more accurate data capture
• Simplify the process of gathering data for your Self Assessment tax return so you can complete it yourself
• Improve collaboration with your accountant if you choose to work with one for your tax return 

All of our customers get free, award-winning support by phone, email, online chat, and live online Q&As.   

• Telephone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 
• Online drop-in Q&As are held Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Get an answer in minutes, if not seconds.  
• Pre-recorded webinars are available to watch any time that suits you.  

You will also get 24/7 access to the following support resources: 

• Our online community Sage City: Ask questions, share ideas, and solve issues with Sage Accounting customers and product experts.   
• Step-by-step video guides.
• Instructor-led courses: For anyone wanting to take their skills to the next level, we have hundreds of courses designed for multiple experience levels and job roles. Get certified and earn badges that show your expertise and build up your resume. 
• We also have support channels on Twitter and Youtube. We are committed to providing you with world-class support for Sage Accounting at every step of your business journey.