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Original poster

Do I need help with my tax return or are they easy?

38 replies

AliciaWhiskers · 15/05/2020 11:23

I have a main job that is PAYE. I have also registered as self employed as I earn money from some other work from home jobs. And last year I also earned some money in interest from a bank account after an inheritance.

Are tax returns easy enough to do myself, or do I need someone else to have a look at it for me? My OH has suggested I ask his accountant to look at it but I don't know if I need to pay someone else to look through it for me.

OP posts:

raffle · 15/05/2020 11:31

I do mine on line myself, they are straightforward. I’ve never had a problem. Good luck.

nibdedibble · 15/05/2020 11:34

Easy. Takes 10 mins. Just get the figures ready and away you go.

nibdedibble · 15/05/2020 11:35

I once paid an accountant to do it but if your finances are uncomplicated then you would be wasting your money.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General money

MrsBudd · 15/05/2020 11:37

Interested too. I have got a spreadsheet with all of my earnings listed and an invoice tracker... Not really sure what info I need to put into the tax return though!

Original poster

AliciaWhiskers · 15/05/2020 11:38

@nibedibble I think the problem is I don't know if my finances are complicated or not!!

OP posts:

nibdedibble · 15/05/2020 11:44

Log on and see what you need to put in. You can save your progress.

Get your earnings figure and your total claimable expenses for the financial year, total taxable interest from bank/savings accounts, PAYE earnings - there may be other things you need but just save your progress at that point.

It asks about dividends and inheritances iirc.

Everything is done in totals. It’s really not stressful. HTH.

MyDucksArentInARow · 15/05/2020 11:47

To be fair, the only reason I haven't done mine is cause I'm waiting for my P11D from work as our employment benefits run by calendar year and my package has changed twice last tax year. You can save and come back to it multiple times, so you can start it and see how you go.

Original poster

AliciaWhiskers · 15/05/2020 11:48

Ah cool thanks @nibdedibble that's really helpful. I have all that info so should be ok.

One question - if my self employed income comes from different sources (I do various online work with approx 10 different organisations), do I have to detail them all separately or do they get lumped into one?

OP posts:

tamsintamsout · 15/05/2020 11:50

They’re quite easy.

I paid an accountant at first then started doing my own and couldn’t believe I had wasted money paying someone to do it.

mencken · 15/05/2020 11:55

same here - paid an accountant the first time, but unless you pay very big sums they still ask you to collect all the info, which is the time consuming bit! Return itself takes 10 mins to do online. If you have all the info there's no reason not to do it now, rather than join the January faffers.

get yourself registered as self-employed via gov.uk, you will need a UTR number which comes by post if you haven't already got one. You can start the return and save it in bits before submitting. For savings interest, each institution should send you a 'certificate of interest' which is the number you need. Knock up a quick spreadsheet and add them all up.

self-employment also gets you a cheaper rate on state pension topups, which may well be worth doing.

lazylinguist · 15/05/2020 11:58

I was petrified of doing my first one a few years ago, but it was much much easier than I expected. Like you, I am partly PAYE and partly self-employed. It's fine, honestly!

whydoesitalwayshappentome · 15/05/2020 11:58

It really isn't that difficult and if I can do it anyone can. Don't waste money on an accountant it does all the working out for you and if you do get stuck you can call them and they are really helpful.

Original poster

AliciaWhiskers · 15/05/2020 11:58

@mencken thanks for your post. I don't have the certificate of interest but I have added up the interest from each account - is that not right?

I've registered as self employed so done that bit.

I've added up my total income for the year.

No idea what you mean about the state pension topups, will look into that.

OP posts:

tamsintamsout · 15/05/2020 12:00

Separately, and it will walk you through it really clearly.

Make sure you account for any expenses. You don’t get the money back but you get tax relief. For example if you spend £50 on allowable expenses you won’t pay tax on £50 of your earnings.

Original poster

AliciaWhiskers · 15/05/2020 12:01

What expenses are there likely to be? OH was talking about if I'm WFH then accounting for heating costs etc but I'm not sure about all of that

OP posts:

Honeywort · 15/05/2020 12:10

Another one saying uncomplicated to do yourself. I use the Which? tax calc software which makes it even easier . It’s about £30 a year for a whole family.

tamsintamsout · 15/05/2020 12:12

Have a read of this: www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed

LizzieMacQueen · 15/05/2020 12:16

If I were you I'd make a simple profit and loss statement, can be back of an envelope or spreadsheet. But do this before you start putting your figures into your tax return. You don't need to separate your income by source if your income is all one type (eg childminding). Have a look at gov.uk website for allowable expenses. There is a flat rate allowance for using your home premises, not much, from memory something like £6 a week depending on your hours etc.

tamsintamsout · 15/05/2020 12:18

Sorry, I’ve given you bad advice - if it’s all the same type of work then you don’t need to list them separately, sorry for any confusion!

Twickerhun · 15/05/2020 12:22

They sent difficult to do at all. But obviously if you want to manage to evade taxes an unscrupulous adviser may help you work out how you can best scam the system

MusicianTom · 15/05/2020 12:25

If all your sources of self employed income are from the same type of activity, you can lump them together, eg work as llama groomer, £1078 income, even if you actually work for 16 different llama farms

Original poster

AliciaWhiskers · 15/05/2020 12:27

Most of it is the same sort of online work - so I can lump that together. I also do work at home like ironing so I'll put that separately.

OP posts:

okiedokieme · 15/05/2020 12:31

Easy to do yourself if you kept good records. That said I have a good side job doing people's tax returns, many can't seem to do them (I mostly do people who have 1 or 2 rental properties in lieu of a pension and are older, unfortunately because I usually go to their houses I'm not able to at the moment, most aren't online)

howells · 15/05/2020 12:36

There is a flat rate you can claim for use of home as an office (3 different rates depending on how many hours you do). It’s on the HMRC website.

Have a look at the trading allowance information as well. Worth it if your expenses are less than £1,000.

We use the tax calc software mentioned by a PP. HMRC software is easy enough though.

mencken · 15/05/2020 12:38

you don't need the certificate of interest unless the revenue choose you for an investigation - but it does save adding up! Look in your online access for each account and contact them if it isn't there. Some companies are slower than others to produce them.

As for the pension, check your online record, if you have been registered self employed you may be able to backdate cheaper topups.

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