With a little over two months until the filing deadline at the end of January 2025, HMRC have been reminding taxpayers that time is ticking for getting self-assessment tax returns filed, and any related tax liabilities paid.

More than 3.5 million tax returns had been submitted by the end of October, but HMRC estimate more than 12 million need to be filed by the end of January, so there are still a lot to go in.

HMRC are encouraging people to submit their Returns as soon as possible, and for once we agree!

Why file well before the deadline?

As our clients will be aware, filing earlier has some major advantages, including avoiding any last-minute panic, getting any refund into your bank account rather than HMRC’s, and being able to plan for any tax payment in good time. 

As an intentionally small team of two, we ask that all of our Self Assessment clients let us have their information by the end of July each year, allowing us to get their Returns underway in plenty of time before we get into our busiest season, preparing accounts for submission by the end of the calendar year.

The final and perhaps most important reason to get your Return in before the end of January is the risk of the HMRC website crashing at the last moment! It has happened with frightening regularity, and it would be immensely frustrating if you incurred a late filing penalty because the system was down when you came to submit at the last minute… 

Allow time to register…

If you need to complete a self-assessment tax return this year but haven’t completed one before, then you will need to register first before you can submit your tax return. The registration process requires codes to be sent via Royal Mail, so we’d strongly recommend that anyone who needs to register does so as quickly as possible, and certainly well before the end of January.

Every year there are a large number of first time registrants who fall foul of this one!

Can we help you?

If you’d like any help with completing your Tax Return for the year ended 5^th April 2024, time is running short but if you’d like some help, do get in touch.

We’d love to help if we can, and if we have the capacity to do so will arrange a conversation to discuss your circumstances and give you an idea of our fees for the preparation and submission of your Return. This is likely to start at around £175+VAT if your affairs are straightforward, and increase with the complexity of your arrangements.

Whether you’d like some help in preparing your Return or are going to complete and submit it yourself though, the message is clear: Sooner is far better than later!