Posted by jonathanfullarton - January 8, 2020 11:01 am Self-Assessment Tax payers beware

Automatic HMRC system issuing letters is causing some Self-Assessment tax confusion

It has come to our attention that a number of our clients have received a letter from HMRC stating that they will not be required to submit a Self-Assessment tax return after 5 April 2019, which has proved to be incorrect. 

A number of these letters have been automatically generated by HMRC and, as a result, may cause confusion with Self Assessment taxpayers who think they are exempt from making a return.

What you need to do

If you receive such a letter, do ensure you check your position with your agent or direct with HMRC.  Please be advised that you will still need to submit a Self-Assessment tax return if your details have not been removed from the HMRC system.    Your agent will be able to check this out for you and will advise you accordingly. 

Our advice

Please do double check your position as otherwise, you may incur interest charges on tax paid late and penalties for non, or late submission of your tax return.  We recommend that you always keep any paperwork you receive from HMRC as in this example it would help in your defence against a challenge from them.

Deadline for Self-Assessment Tax returns

Please do not forget that the Self-Assessment deadline is 31 January 2020 and penalties are incurred on late submissions or resulting from insufficient payments of any tax owed even in the case of error.  In addition, interest will also be charged on tax paid late.

We can help

Please contact your local MFW office if you are struggling and need help completing your tax return, including checking your tax position should you have received one of these letters.  Our tax advisors will be pleased to investigate this for you, check that your tax affairs are in order, and ensure that you are paying the correct amount of tax.