Anybody else panicking about tax return?

[Mediocrewife]

First tax return due tomorrow. I'm self employed and thought it looked pretty straight forward so I did it myself. Have input income, turnover etc and submitted expenses.
Have got a tax pot saved so no problem paying it.
But is that it? I mean all the questions about capital gains tax and losses and previous years etc dont apply to me. Literally my return is an in and out excercise.
My accounts friend says thats fine. But am I being thick?

Sounds fine. I did my first this year. Wasn't as bad as I thought just needed in comings and out goings plus earnings from PAYE. There were a lot more other questions than I thought there would be but didn't apply to me everthing went smoothly. The only thing I am glad I was told was that the payment can take days to show up on account.

What clothing are you claiming for? The rules on that are quite strict about what is and what is not allowable.

I panic about mine every year. I do it in January because my brain can’t function doing it earlier. When I do it, I also do my accounts fully in my own records up til the December on the next tax year so that next January I only have to fill in the remaining 3 months (if that makes sense). It works for me 😅

Cant find the bit where I claim expenses for clothing/equipment so I'll shove it somewhere!!
You have a choice whether to list out goings separately or just put it all in one lump sum this is what I did.

As long as you are just wearing them for work only it's fine.

Tax adviser here. Appreciate that it may seem really daunting but the tax return has to cover every possible set of circumstances so you should find that most of the questions won’t be relevant. It’s totally normal to only have a few sections relevant to you. Don’t leave it until the very last minute as HMRC’s systems do get very busy. If you do encounter any IT issues, make sure you take a screen grab for evidence, should you need to appeal any penalty. The low incomes tax reform group have a great website aimed at the public with really easy to understand information. https://www.litrg.org.uk/news/litrgs-top-tips-make-completing-your-tax-return-easier

Make sure you press submit. DH somehow missed that step last year, despite filling it all in correctly.
£100 fine... for a nil tax bill. That was painful.

It's that where the complexities arise - the actual "numbers in boxes" is pretty simple. It's knowing what the numbers are that's the hard bit. As you rightly say, clothing is complex. An identical item may be allowable for one type of trade, but not allowable for a different type of trade. Mostly, all that is allowable falls under a different heading, i.e. specific clothes with a health and safety reason, i.e. steel toe capped boots not trainers, or cargo pants with built in knee guards rather than "fashion" cargo pant - or for advertising reasons, i.e. a coat or polo shirt with the business logo embroidered, but not a generic coat or polo shirt from a High Street fashion shop, etc. I think a good rule of thumb is that anything bought from a supermarket or high street fashion shop isn't allowable, but anything bought from a builders merchants or bespoke logo/print business is allowable (but not always!!).

Nope, that's not the rules/laws at all as proved by numerous tribunal/court cases over the years.

You aren't being thick. You just ignore all the non-applicable questions.

That is not necessarily the case any more.

A barrister is not allowed to claim for black & white clothing for work but can claim for their wig. A builder can claim for a hi-vis jacket, but not for a Sports Direct hoodie. You need to be more specific about what you think you might be able to claim for & why. The SA rules don't allow you to claim for an office wardrobe.

You've had 9 months to do it

That happened to me once years ago, also in a nil tax year. Very painful.

DH finally got them both off at about 4pm.

It's really not, I'm no tax expert but even I know you can't claim tax relief just because you wear clothes for work

And its done! Seems pretty low but I'm sure they'll let me know if its wrong! I didnt earn loads as I was just starting out. I have plenty tax savings in my tax pot though.
@caringcarer glad he got them off!
I've set up and started next years spreadsheet and organised receipts so I'll be more ahead of myself.
Tis a learning curve!
Thanks for advice, especially @poppetandmog and @Iloveeverycat I didnt claim clothing as wasnt 100% sure I could. Also not sure about paying PAYE-couldnt find info on that.

That's your response to 'my dad died this year and I cared for him'?

Careful OP because many people think like you and the system gets overloaded on the final evening. Could you submit first thing in the morning instead?

Info on paying PAYE. What do you mean? Have you paid tax during the year through PAYE or are you confused about payments on account?

Thanks, I was trying to let that slide. But yeah, I wasnt going to lose out on time with my beloved dad whilst he was dying. Don't regret a single minute.

PAYE-it seems its included in self assessment. Still learning here!

My friend who uses an accountant has to have all her info and receipts etc to them by end of October if she wants the cheaper rate. Anyone turning up with a bag of receipts and a file in Nov/Dec/Jan gets charged more for their tax return the accountant says 6 month from the April date is long enough to get your act together, I quite agree.

Do you meant that you were paid by an employer during part or all of the tax year in addition to being self-employed? If so, then you need to add that information to your tax return - you should have received a P60 at the end of the tax year if you're still employed, or a P45 if you left during the tax year.

It is absolutely not true that you can claim all clothes that you use only for work. This is just one of many things people believe to be true that aren't.

I know we've clicked over now but according to the many news bullitens I hear yesterday reminding people not to be late the deadline was midnight, you can't foll it be getting up early 😀

Ha, it was a day later than I realised. My fuzzy brain is one of the main reasons I get my return in early! Hope everyone met the deadline this year.