[Updated February 2025]: If you missed the 31 January deadline to submit your self-assessment tax return, you are now into the penalty stage. HMRC applies an automatic £100 penalty to those who are anywhere from 1 day to 3 months late. Further penalties are then added if you take even longer to comply. It's even worse if you haven't paid the tax owed to HMRC by 31 January because you'll then owe interest on that too.

Our Advice if You’re Late

If you are late submitting your tax return and/or paying the tax owed, our advice is to:

1. submit your tax return without delay;
2. pay as much tax as you can as soon as possible*.
   By doing both, you'll minimise the penalty and interest payable to HMRC.

* Payment of any historic tax for 2023/24 and prior years is best dealt with by the last day of February at the latest. Any amount that remains due for 2023/24 is considered late thereafter and will attract an automatic HMRC charge of 5%.

The post Missed the Tax Return Deadline? What Happens Now? appeared first on Taxfile.

by Ali at Taxfile.

For many self-employed UK taxpayers, the January Self-Assessment deadline looms like a tax-shaped storm cloud. But what if you could banish that pre-deadline panic and transform tax season into a breeze?

Psychology tells us that we are motivated when one set of thought processes outweighs the opposing ones, tipping the balance to make us act. With that in mind, here are 7 key things that may motivate you to act on your taxes sooner rather than later.

The post The Early Bird Catches the Worm — The Benefits of Acting on Taxes Sooner appeared first on Taxfile.

Dear Taxfile Client,

We're aware that many people are struggling right now. So, I wanted to personally touch base with you to confirm that, although the official deadline for submission of 2020/21 self-assessment tax returns and tax payments is Monday (31 January), there is now some extra time this year. This is great news for you if you are concerned about missing the deadlines or having to pay an HMRC penalty for being late. It should

The post A Personal Message from Guy Bridger at Taxfile appeared first on Taxfile.

The post 5% Late Payment Penalty Relief Announced by HMRC appeared first on Taxfile.

Hot off the press is our brand new Autumn newsletter for 2016. If you haven't yet seen it, take a look because it's jam-packed full of useful information that'll help you keep your tax affairs and accounts in order, save you money and keep you up to speed on tax matters. Here's a quick flavour of what's included (or click the thumbnail image to view or download the newsletter):

• Act fast to save money on your 2015-16 tax return - see the newsletter's first article.
• Sub-contractors working in the construction industry are invited to claim their CIS tax refunds through Taxfile, so they have their refund in time for Christmas!
• Help if you're late with any previous years' tax returns and tax payments — and how you already owe HMRC at least £1300 if you haven't filed your 2014/15 tax return or paid tax for that year.
• Try the UK's Number 1 cloud-based accounts package FREE, for a month. No credit card required - cancel at any time - full details are included in the newsletter. [UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired]
• Help if your tax affairs are in a mess — are you late filing returns or paying tax? Are you worried about HMRC penalties? Are you a foreign worker, working in the UK, and need to get your tax records up to date following the Brexit decision? We're here to help!
• Taxfile are Finalists in the 'Independent Firm of the Year, Greater London' category of the British Accountancy Awards 2016.
• Free tax enquiry Fee Protection Insurance for Taxfile customers who file their tax returns by the statutory deadline through Taxfile.
• How online banking may save you time and money.
• Introduce a new client to Taxfile and save 10% on our fees!
• Saturday opening at Taxfile (Tulse Hill office) throughout November and December.
• Help with all your tax and accounting needs - check out our list of all the things we can help you with — now including auto enrolment!
• And a 'thank you' to all Taxfile customers ...
  

  The post Taxfile’s Autumn Newsletter 2016 appeared first on Taxfile.

  ]]> https://www.taxfile.co.uk/2016/01/free-sage-bookkeeping-accounts-packages/ Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:24:28 +0000 http://www.taxfile.co.uk/?p=1704 [UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired]. Taxfile's customers can benefit from an incredible offer on a range of Sage accounting packages at the moment. We're offering a FREE or, in effect, heavily subsidised* Sage accounting package to all active Taxfile customers, whether existing or new. There are various different packages available so we're sure we'll have one which will suit every customer perfectly. The list of benefits is almost endless — here are just a few:
  • Firstly we'll GIVE* Taxfile customers the package — you don't have to pay Sage at all;
  • Say hello to quick and easy bookkeeping and record-keeping;
  • Quick and easy cash flow management tools;
  • Cloud-based record keeping means you can access accounts records from anywhere with an internet connection;
  • Automatic bank statement integration makes bank reconciliation a breeze, helping when receipts go missing and even recognising - and accounting for - regular transactions;
  • A mobile app module allows you to simply snap a photo of your receipt and it uploads to your Sage account (say goodbye to physical receipt storage!);
  • Less paperwork!
  • Automatic tax computations performed by the software;
  • Report and analysis options;
  • VAT handling;
  • Automatic VAT return options (or let us handle it for you as you prefer);
  • Shows you the taxes and National Insurance due so you can easily pay them on time;
  • Fast and easier tax returns;
  • Help from Taxfile at any point and from Sage's own helpful videos;
  • Helps you stay in line with UK laws, taxes and regulations;
  • No experience needed;
  • Perfect for the self-employed, start-ups and small businesses;
  • Taxfile will even be happy to set you up;
  • Integrated invoicing and quotation options available (even from your mobile phone!);
  • A quick and easy payroll bolt-on is also available for limited companies, with payslips, RTI, Auto Enrolment integration etc.;
  • Auto enrolment communications included if you have a company pension scheme;
  • Option to automatically integrate online e-commerce records into your Sage account;
  • Fast and easier company accounts preparation;
  • ... and much more!

  But there is more major benefit - collaboration with us, your accountant!

  The Sage packages we supply are not only free, or in effect heavily subsidised depending on the package involved, but also allow us, your accountant and tax adviser, to collaborate with you within your Sage package with your permission. So where you cannot do something yourself, we can log in using our own integrated Sage administration system to get involved on your behalf, for example to set things up for you, run reports, activate VAT returns, tax returns, end of year accounts, payroll and so on. It's amazing really! So you do as much or as little as you want to ... and we cover everything else!

  You save money!

  Using the easy but powerful Sage bookkeeping and accounting packages supplied by Taxfile
  means that you'll save money. It's as simple as that. Customers using such packages makes our job easier, reducing our chargeable hours working on your accounts, so quite simply saves you money!

  You also save time!

  Our Sage packages will save you SO much time you'll never look back! Once you've tried our Sage packages for a while you'll

  The post AMAZING OFFER! Save Time, Money & Space with a FREE Sage Bookkeeping & Accounts Package!* appeared first on Taxfile.

  ]]> https://www.taxfile.co.uk/2015/11/taxfiles-autumn-newsletter/ Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:37:25 +0000 http://www.taxfile.co.uk/?p=1598 Check out our latest A4 newsletter — which is jam-packed with ways to save money when dealing with your tax affairs and is more comprehensive than our recent e-newsletter. Savings include our 5% Early Bird discount for help with your tax return or accounts before Christmas, our offer to reduce your Taxfile bill by a […]

  The post Save money & hassle with our latest PDF newsletter! appeared first on Taxfile.

  ]]> https://www.taxfile.co.uk/2015/02/missed-the-tax-return-deadline/ Tue, 03 Feb 2015 08:15:35 +0000 http://www.taxfile.co.uk/blog/?p=995 [Updated 3 February 2020]: If you missed the deadline for submission of your tax return to HMRC (that was 12 midnight on Saturday 31 January) here's what you can expect in terms of a fine:

  

  In case you didn't realise, you still had to submit a tax return even if you did not owe any tax and the longer you leave it, the more it will cost you — as you can see in the table above. Alternatively, use this excellent estimation tool to work out your exact penalty at any given point in time. Not sure if you even need to submit a Self Assessment tax return? No problem; there's a tool for that too (here).

  Statistically speaking, women seem to send in their returns on time more often than men; 18 to 20 year olds of either sex are the very worst with around 11% of them sending in their returns late in recent years, while those over 65 seem to be statistically the most reliable of all, with only around 1½% of them having filed tax returns late. We'll have to wait and see how it panned out this year when the figures are in.

  Taxfile are here for you if you need to get your tax return sorted out whether you're on time or not - but the earlier the better if you're to minimise any penalty from HMRC. We are professional accountants and tax advisors, are based in South London, and will help to get your tax affairs in order with minimal fuss. We will ensure that all your figures are correct so that you pay only the right amount of tax - no more, and no less. For professional tax help contact us or book an appointment on-line.

  The post Missed the Tax Return Deadline? appeared first on Taxfile.

  ]]> https://www.taxfile.co.uk/2015/01/hours-left-to-get-help-with-tax-returns/ Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:38:19 +0000 http://www.taxfile.co.uk/blog/?p=988 You’re running out of time to submit your tax return and have just HOURS left! We are here to help you fill in and submit your self assessment tax returns to HMRC on Saturday 31st (by appointment only, 9-1pm) so come and see us quickly or you may miss the HMRC deadline. If you do […]

  The post You have only HOURS left to submit your Tax Return! appeared first on Taxfile.

  ]]> https://www.taxfile.co.uk/2014/10/avoid-penalties-file-tax-returns-on-time/ Mon, 20 Oct 2014 09:00:47 +0000 http://www.taxfile.co.uk/blog/?p=834 [UPDATED AUGUST 2020] Did you know that you get an automatic £100 minimum penalty if you file your Self Assessment tax return (or pay any tax owed) even one day late? After 3 months you can add £10 per day extra to that fine (up to 90 days/£900 max) and after 6 months it gets […]

  The post Avoid Significant HMRC Penalties – file your tax return on time! appeared first on Taxfile.

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