Tax doesn't have to be taxing - or so they say

[Inyourhippyhat]

Am filling in self-certification form for HMRC for 2011-12. It's my first one and I am leaving myself plenty of time. Fairly simple or so it seemed - my salary, an insurance policy that matured, tax on a bit of private income already paid (I have documentation for this). However, every time I try to fill in parts of the form online I get a row of ref crosses which mean I have not filled in the form correctly. I am going to keep trying (and will ring HMRC for question by question help).

If, however, I find I simply cannot do it I may have to ask an accountant. Can any of you who are accountants or who use an accountant for a simple tax return such as mine (i.e. not business or with large, complex private incomes) please tell me approximately how much this might cost? I'll be very grateful for any input.

we would charge £150 for a basic tax return, its our minimum. If you went to a big firm they would proabably charge more but you could probably get someone to do it cheaper.

If i were you i would keep trying online or you can submit a paper return if done before 31 October

I'm an accountant but if your situation is really simple I probably couldn't add any value to justify my fee. If you really can't get the HMRC software to work (and HMRC software is notoriously hard to use, although the personal tax return is believe it or not one of the best!), I'll let you into a secret: the software used by many accountants to file tax returns for their clients, Taxcalc, is available for personal use for less than £26! Taxcalc.

Another TaxCalc fan here. Even my 75 year-old DM uses it successfully. :)

I do tax returns at an hourly fee. PM me if you would like some help. Usually the HMRC one is very simple to do.