We were talking about
financial
back up plans for last week's Finance Fridays. This week we are
looking at the plans HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have for changing
the way people handle their tax affairs.
If you currently need to
complete a self-assessment form and you haven't submitted your return
for 2015-16 yet then you will now have to submit it online. The
deadline for paper copies was 31st October 2016. In many
ways this is a good thing as the paper form has many sections you
don't need to complete. By doing it online these sections are
automatically excluded as you start to fill in your details. You will
also get a notification from HMRC once it has been submitted so you
definitely know they have received it. This is the start of the way
HMRC are wanting to change the tax system.
The aim is to have to all in
place by April 2020. Since April this year every individual and small
business has had access to a digital tax account. Through this
account you are able to view a personalised tax account along with
advice, support and secure messaging for any queries.
For many the annual tax
return is something of a burden. Collating a whole year's information
in one go can be quite stressful especially when you are unsure about
the exact amount of tax you owe. From April 2018 businesses,
self-employed people and those who let property out will update HMRC
at least quarterly where it is their main source of income. They will
also need to do it if it is a secondary source of income above
£10,000 and their main income is from employment or a pension.
The overall idea is to have
a business' or individual's whole tax liability across all the
different taxes in one place to view and manage. This means that
income tax, VAT and National Insurance can be be listed in once place
rather than having to contact different departments. It is also
planned to collate tax information from banks and building societies
and apply the information to individual accounts. It should be a
great help for individuals who have income from more than one source
as they will be able to clearly see how their tax coding and
allowance is spread across their payments.
Have you looked at your
personal digital tax account? Do you think it is a good to collate
tax information digitally?
If
you want to join in with this week's Finance Fridays then add your
link to the linky below. Any post concerning financial matters is
allowed. Full details here.
It doesn't have to be published today as you have until 23.55 on
Tuesday 8th
November 2016 to join in.
If
you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Google+ please tag me and I
will retweet, Like, Share or +1 as appropriate. You can find me here:
Twitter:
@jibberjabberuk
-
please
use the hashtag #FinanceFridays
Facebook:
Jibberjabberuk
Instagram:
jibberjabberuk
Google+:
Jibber
JabberUK
Thanks for that - I didn't know about the April 2018 changes but that sounds good to me - submitting every quarter will be much less stressful than yearly.
ReplyDeleteOh this is so good! It will help so many people!
ReplyDeleteoh that's interesting! I had no idea the were going to do it quarterly! x
ReplyDeleteSpreading the work quarterly and having everything stored in one place sound like a good idea - I think this will make it all easier to manage rather than the 'once a year' way we do it now.
ReplyDeleteI hate doing my tax return and really ought to get it done now. I always leave it late
ReplyDeleteMy husband does it online for me, he has done it already thankfully so one less thing to worry about :) but yes online sounds better if the paper form has extra bits on it I think it might get more confusing x
ReplyDelete