Invoices and receipts from various business transactions are some of the strongest primary evidence that you can provide. They substantiate claims for deductions and ensure the correct amount of income tax is being paid.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p>\n
Allowances And Reliefs For Business Owners<\/b><\/h2>\n
The UK tax system, to reward revenue coming into the country via your business, offers several allowances and reliefs for your business. Understanding these options will further your ability to maximise financial efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\nPersonal Savings Allowance (PSA)<\/b><\/h3>\n
PSA allows a certain amount of interest on your savings tax-free each tax year. The amount you can earn free of tax depends on income bands.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Basic-rate taxpayers (20%):<\/b> \u00a31,000 tax-free interest per year.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Higher-rate taxpayers (40%):<\/b> \u00a3500 tax-free interest per year.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Additional-rate taxpayers (45%):<\/b> No allowance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
The PSA applies to banks, building society accounts and other types of savings interest – so long as it’s not earned within ISAs, as they are already tax-free.<\/span><\/p>\nTax-Free Childcare<\/b><\/h3>\n
If you’re a working parent\/carer, then you may be eligible for tax-free childcare, allowing you to claim up to \u00a34,000 per year per disabled child, and \u00a32000 on an annual basis for children who are not disabled. Every \u00a38 you pay into tax-free childcare will be topped up \u00a32 by the UK government.<\/span><\/p>\nMarriage Allowance<\/b><\/h3>\n
Marriage allowance allows for non-taxpaying spouses\/civil partners to transfer \u00a31,260 out of their allowance to their spouse\/civil partner – so long as they are basic-rate taxpayers. Potentially, these can reduce the couple’s overall tax bill by \u00a3252 per year.<\/span><\/p>\nOther Reliefs<\/b><\/h3>\n\n- Employment Allowance – <\/b>This allows employers who are eligible to reduce their annual national insurance contributions allowance by up to \u00a35000.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Research and development – <\/b>Limited companies that engage in innovative projects whose goal is to advance knowledge or technology within specific fields, such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy etc. You may be able to claim R&D tax relief to reduce your corporation tax bill.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Annual investment allowance – <\/b>Businesses can deduct the full cost of qualifying plant and machinery from their taxable profits, up to \u00a31 million for the tax year of 2023 to 2024. This equipment includes computers, laptops, software, and other items not out of place in an office.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Who Needs To Fill Out Self-Assessment Tax Returns?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Business owners who fall into the following categories will have to fill out a tax return before the self-assessment deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Sole traders or partnerships – <\/b>Including freelancers, contractors or individuals running a business.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Director of a limited company – <\/b>Any income that comes from the company, including earnings, dividends or other benefits, will have to be reported via a self-assessment – even if you receive a salary through PAYE.<\/span><\/li>\n
- High-income earner – <\/b>If your income exceeds \u00a3100,000 a year, you will always be required to file a tax return.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Receiving income not taxed at source – <\/b>Rental income, investment income etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Registration<\/b><\/h3>\n
You will need to register with the HMRC before being able to file a return. You can do an online registration via their website, or call HMRC’s number. Regardless, you will be issued a UTR (10-digit ID code), and an activation code will be sent to your address.<\/span><\/p>\nHow To Fill Out A Tax Return?<\/b><\/h2>\n
There are two ways tax returns can be submitted:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Online <\/b>– Via HMRC website.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Paper – <\/b>Filling out a form and sending it off.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
Online return<\/b><\/h3>\n
Most businesses and owners prefer to do it online. An online return is convenient as it allows you to return the tax return online at any time, from anywhere with an internet connection. Your tax liability is also automatically calculated, helping you spot and smooth over mistakes to prevent overpaid tax or falsification. Furthermore, the submission delivers the return immediately, making it by far the most preferred method.<\/span><\/p>\nPaper return<\/b><\/h3>\n
To file a paper return, you must complete a physical form named the (SA100). Then, you must mail it so that it arrives at HMRC by the 31st of October. Paper returns take longer to process; manual data entry can increase the likelihood of mistakes and take longer to proofread.<\/span><\/p>\nPaying Your Tax Bill<\/b><\/h2>\n
Submitting your tax return online typically means you’ll be able to view your tax bill within 72 hours, with the amount you’ll pay possibly even being available sooner. It may take much longer to get your bill with a paper filing, such as several weeks.<\/span><\/p>\nRegardless, when you receive your bill, there are several ways in which you can pay:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Online or telephone banking – <\/b>Making a direct payment from your bank through these trusted methods is the most straightforward way.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Card payment – <\/b>The HMRC’s online service offers a payment service for debit and corporate cards.<\/span><\/li>\n
- CHAPS – <\/b>Standing for the clearing house automated payment system, this same-day payment method is offered by many banks and building societies.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Cheque – <\/b>Old fashioned and traditional, a cheque is generally accepted but is much slower than electronic payments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n
Overall, filing a tax return is an involved process, but one that is necessary for both you and your business. Incorrect tax filings can result in underpaid or overpaid tax, as well as possible legal concerns. To make the tax return process as easy as possible, it’s best to ensure that you keep all your relevant documents for safekeeping, making compiling them easier.<\/span><\/p>\nFAQ – Can I use unused allowances from the previous tax year?<\/b><\/h3>\n
This depends on the specific allowance:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Personal allowance – <\/b>Not possible – personal allowance is allocated for each tax year specifically on a use-it-or-lose-it basis.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Personal savings allowance and dividend allowance – <\/b>These also cannot be carried forward, as they only apply to the income earned within a specific tax year.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Marriage allowances – <\/b>This can be used from the previous tax year, or rather the previous four, but you must have been eligible for those years.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Pension annual allowance – <\/b>An unused annual allowance can be carried forward by three previous tax years, allowing for larger pension contributions in the current tax year, fully entitled to tax relief.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Capital losses – <\/b>If you made capital losses in the previous tax year you may be eligible to carry those forward to offset against future capital gains.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
FAQ – What is the difference between a tax year and a financial year?<\/b><\/h3>\n
The difference between the two is distinct:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Tax year – <\/b>A tax year is the period used by HMRC to calculate a person’s income tax liability, running from the 6th of April to the 5th of April.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Financial year –<\/b>The 12-month period a business uses for accounting and financial reporting, used to prepare a company’s annual accounts. This includes profits, loss statements and balance sheets. A company’s financial year is set by the company itself, although many align it with the tax year.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The post How To Prepare For The Tax Year Ending<\/a> appeared first on Real Business<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK tax year runs from the 6th of April of one year to the 5th of the following – and for business owners, or anyone else who manages their taxes via self-assessment tax returns, it’s important to plan and ensure you have fulfilled your obligations ahead of time. This is prudent and can limit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paarentingnation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}