Individuals

Self Assessment

In 2000, the Inland Revenue introduced a new approach to controlling personal taxation, under the banner of Self Assessment.

While the majority of employed people paying tax through PAYE are not required to complete a tax return, those who are or have been directors, higher earners, those who are self employed or who are in partnership are required to complete a tax return.

The deadline for submission of a tax return is 31st January following the end of the preceding tax year (5th April), and failure to send in your return on time results in a penalty.

The Self Assessment tax return is made up of a basic core return together with separate supplementary pages - which pages you require depend on your circumstances and the different sources of income you receive. It is important to ensure that you have all the required pages: these can be downloaded from the Inland Revenue web site.

In addition to the tax return pages, the Inland Revenue provide a work sheet. This is intended to help guide you through the calculations, but it is in practice easy to make a mistake.  Once you have calculated your tax, then you have to make a payment to the Inland Revenue, also by January 31st. Failure to do so can result in penalties and interest charges.

LaiPeters & Co offer a comprehensive service to deal with these matters, and ensure that you only pay the tax that is due. For owners of businesses, the use of a professional can smooth the passage of your return and acceptance of your figures by the Inland Revenue.