Self assessment
Sparing you the headaches 
The term 'self assessment' is proving to be one of the great misnomers of all time. Many taxpayers struggle to understand the complex tax returns and complete them correctly. In the first year of the regime alone, 775,000 taxpayers received £100 penalties for failing to submit their returns on time, and some 400,000 incurred further penalties because their returns were still outstanding six months later!
The constant stream of changes to tax legislation means not only that the returns are becoming even more difficult to understand but also that taxpayers risk incurring more penalties through failing to complete their returns on time or correctly. And judging by the hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who are penalized by HMRC each year it can also be very costly if:
The term 'self assessment' is proving to be one of the great misnomers of all time. Many taxpayers struggle to understand the complex tax returns and complete them correctly. In the first year of the regime alone, 775,000 taxpayers received £100 penalties for failing to submit their returns on time, and some 400,000 incurred further penalties because their returns were still outstanding six months later! The constant stream of changes to tax legislation means not only that the returns are becoming even more difficult to understand but also that taxpayers risk incurring more penalties through failing to complete their returns on time or correctly. And judging by the hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who are penalized by HMRC each year it can also be very costly if:
- Deadlines are missed
- Incorrect returns are delivered
- Appropriate records are not retained or presented
- Calculating your tax liability
- Completing and filing your tax return on your behalf
- Advising you when various payments are due and how much to pay
- Advising on appropriate record retention
- Introducing you to any relevant tax saving ideas
- Representing you in the event of your being selected for investigation by HMRC
- Liaising with your bank, building society, stockbrokers etc to gather the relevant data for your annual returns