Self-Assessment Tax Return Accountants
Are you self-employed and need professional help to submit your self-assessment tax return? Look no further than Mercian Accountants, who provide specialist HMRC self-assessment tax return services for the self-employed, contractors, freelancers, company directors, and property investors in the UK. We can also help with your self-assessment payments on account.
Who needs to file a self-assessment tax return?
Typically, employees have their tax deducted at source through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and do not need to complete a self-assessment tax return. However, most self-employed individuals, who do not have their tax deducted at source, must complete a self-assessment tax return to enable HMRC to tax them correctly on their earnings.
You will need to submit an HM Revenue & Customs tax return if you fall into one of the below categories:
- Director of a limited company & receiving untaxed income
- Self-employed
- Employed and earning over £100,000
- Earning over £50,000 and receiving child benefit
- Earning income that hasn’t been taxed
- Receiving property income
Why do you need to complete a Self-Assessment tax return?
HMRC uses your self-assessment tax return to calculate your tax liabilities each year. This includes any amounts you have overpaid, whether a rebate is due, and any amounts you have underpaid.
Benefits of Using an Accountant
Many sole traders choose to use the services of an accountant to help with their self-assessment for various reasons, such as saving time, ensuring accuracy, potentially reducing their tax bill, and receiving specialist advice.
Deadlines for self-assessment tax returns
The deadlines for self-assessment returns are 31st October in the year the tax year ends for paper returns and 31st January in the following year for online returns. Fines for late returns start at £100 for being a day late, rising to £1,000 plus additional costs if your return is over six months late.
Can your accountant file your tax return?
At Mercian Accountants, we file tax returns, including self-assessment returns, for many clients. We apply our professional experience to minimise our clients’ tax burden and ensure returns are filed on time, avoiding penalties. This frees up your time for your business and relieves you of the headaches that completing a tax return can sometimes cause.
Find out more about our self-assessment service, or contact us to learn how we can help with your tax returns.
Our self-assessment tax services
We prepare our clients’ tax returns on their behalf, simplifying the process and transforming their self-assessment experience. Our dedicated and skilled team are here to make the self-assessment process as straightforward as possible. Our services include:
- A full review of your finances over the tax year
- Completion of accurate and detailed calculations to determine the amount of tax that you need to pay
- Meticulous preparation of your tax return correctly identifying all of the expenses and allowances that you are entitled to claim
- Offering comprehensive advice on tax, return dates and tax payment methods
- Checking and filing your tax return with HMRC
- Evaluating any tax planning opportunities to reduce future tax
Fees for self-assessment services
We will work with you throughout the entire process regardless of the complexity of your tax affairs. An experienced and skilled tax professional will prepare your return.
We work extremely hard to deliver a quality service to our clients while keeping our fees affordable. We understand that costs are significant, particularly for individuals and small businesses. Our fees are highly competitive and based on each client’s requirements and the complexity of the tax. We offer fixed fees for most clients, but if your circumstances and requirements are more complex, we also offer hourly fees. Please contact us to find an attractive quote to suit your business.
Tax payments
Paying tax is one of those things we all dislike, but it has to be done. If you are experiencing financial difficulties and a tax bill will make things worse, we can work with HMRC to negotiate suitable payment strategies or advise on other options to settle your tax bill. We much prefer to work proactively with clients to ensure they don’t end up in this situation.
How we work
We have an open and transparent way of working and use our years of expertise to deliver the best tax services to help you quickly deal with your self-assessment tax return. If you decide to work with us, you will receive the following:
- An initial consultation with one of our finance specialists so that you can determine whether we are suitable for your business and ask any questions
- Value for money fixed fees with no hidden costs
- Comprehensive advice and guidance on tax
- Submission of your tax return electronically
- A full breakdown of how your tax was calculated
- A dedicated professional to act on your behalf
Initial meeting
Our self-assessment service is as comprehensive as you would expect from a leading accountancy firm. We will get to know you and your business at the initial consultation, including how you approach your financial record-keeping and accounting methods. In the meeting, we will determine your sources of income and how your business functions to obtain a broad picture of how your finances are managed. You will ask us questions and discuss our fees. You are then under no obligation to appoint us as your tax agent.
Information required
If you decide to work with us, you must provide us with some critical information to calculate and submit your self-assessment tax return. It is entirely up to you whether you send this to us electronically by email or through the post.
We will need full details of your finances over the tax year and supporting documents. These will be reviewed, your tax return completed and returned to you for review. If you approve, we will submit the final return to the HMRC. That’s it until the next tax year.
| Please Tick or mark N/A | ||
| General | ||
| The latest HMRC Self-Assessment Tax Statement of Account, if you received one | ||
| Any change in your marital status | ||
| Any change in your residency status | ||
| Details of any student loan plans you are liable for (Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 or Post-Graduate) | ||
| Income | ||
| Employment | Form P60 or P45, copy of P11D. Details of any taxable lump sums; fixed deductions from employment, redundancy payments and any student loan deductions taken. | |
| Are you a director or office holder | ||
| Self-Employment & Partnership | Accounting paperwork for your Accounting Period that ended in this tax year. Details of income (including any Coronavirus schemes such as CJRS) and expenses arising or business accounts together with a note of any capital additions or disposals. | |
| CIS Subcontractor | Tax Statements from Contractors from 6th April to 5th April in addition to Self-Employment records. | |
| Pensions | State Pension, private pensions and overseas pensions received, during the tax year. | |
| Benefits | State benefits or allowances received, during the tax year. Jobseekers allowance. | |
| Child benefit received by you, your partner or paid to someone else for a child living with you, including the number of relevant children, the date it ceased and your partners’ income. | ||
| Income from Property | Details of any rental income, rental statements and mortgage statements for the tax year including interest paid. Details of any expenses, service charge, ground rent etc. | |
| Bank/Building Society Accounts | Interest received on any accounts from statements or certificates of interest received from your bank. Please indicate any Joint Accounts and enter your share of the income. | |
| UK Dividends | Dividend vouchers and scrip dividend vouchers (where shares received in lieu of whole or part of dividend). Details of all UK shares held. | |
| Foreign Income | Interest received on any foreign accounts. Dividend vouchers from any foreign holdings, details of all foreign shares held. Amounts in sterling. | |
| Foreign employment payslips covering the tax year. Details & dates overseas. | ||
| Any other received or remitted income from overseas. | ||
| Life insurance Policies | Income from insurance policies or from a deceased person’s estate. | |
| Trusts & Estates | Any discretionary/non-discretionary payments or income chargeable on settlors. Any income from UK / Foreign estates and associated finance costs. | |
| Cryptocurrency | Details of any income from cryptocurrency activities such as staking, mining or airdrops. | |
| Other Sources | Documentary evidence of any other income or details of source, when it first arose, amount received and if tax deducted. | |
| Capital Transactions | ||
| Shares and Securities | Documentary evidence of any other income or details of source, when it first arose, amount received and if tax deducted. | |
| Share Options | Documentation for options granted or exercised. | |
| Chargeable Assets | Full details of the cost/sale proceeds for any other assets whether in the UK or overseas. Include any details of Capital Gains Tax paid on UK property. | |
| Life Assurance Investment Bonds | All relevant Certificates. | |
| Cryptocurrency/digital assets | Full details of the cost/sale proceeds for any cryptocurrency disposals. | |
| Outgoings | ||
| Professional Subs & allowances | Subscriptions paid to professional bodies or trade associations. Any other allowances or deductions. | |
| Pensions | Details of all payments to pensions including any statements. | |
| Gift Aid Donations | Details of payments made under the gift aid scheme. | |
| EIS/SEIS, VCT etc. | Details of subscriptions to Enterprise Investment Schemes, SEED EIS, Venture Capital Trusts and Social or Community Investment tax relief schemes. Copy of any EIS3/SEIS3/Certificates. | |
| Other reliefs and deductions | ||
| Qualifying maintenance paid to a former spouse or civil partner. | ||
| Post-cessation expenses, pre-incorporation losses, losses on relevant discounted securities. | ||
| Are you in receipt of a Marriage Allowance Transfer? | ||
| Have you made a Marriage Allowance Transfer to a partner or spouse? | ||
Saving tax
We are a leading provider of accountancy services, and we offer practical tips to help you legitimately minimise your tax liability. We will thoroughly review your finances to ensure that you are claiming all of the allowances and reliefs you are entitled to and that your tax return is accurate.
Let us prepare your Tax Return
In conclusion, let Mercian Accountants take the stress out of your self-assessment tax return process. Our team of experienced chartered accountants is ready to provide tailored advice and guidance, ensuring your tax obligations are met, and potential savings are identified.
Don’t wait until the deadline approaches; contact us today to learn how we can help you with your self-assessment tax return. Call us on 01743 562430, email us at hello@mercianaccountants.co.uk, or use our contact form to book a free consultation with one of our tax experts. Choose Mercian Accountants for a seamless self-assessment experience and peace of mind.