Do you need to file a tax return?

Many people believe if you stop being self employed and go back to employment there is no need to file a tax return. What is often overlooked is that the last bit of self employment, the bit between 6th April and starting work, still has to be reported on a tax return. So don't ignore that tax return just because you now think its all handled through PAYE.


Who needs to complete a tax return?

 

• self employed people (including members of a partnership)
• company directors (except not for profit organisations)
• ministers of religion (any faith)
• people who get rent or income from land and property in the UK (but if you are an employee and this income is less than £2,500 a year a tax return may not be necessary)
• people who have other untaxed income and the tax due on it cannot be collected though a PAYE tax code
• people with taxable foreign income, even if they are not normally resident in the UK (this includes non-resident landlords)
• employees and pensioners with more complex tax affairs - see below

 

Remember, if you have any income that is not taxed at source, like rents or freelance earnings, you may need to complete a tax return.

 

Employees and pensioners with complex tax affairs

 You need to fill in a tax return if you:

• have an annual income of £100,000 or more
• have annual income from savings or investments of £10,000 or more (before tax)
• claim against tax for expenses or professional subscriptions of £2,500 or more
• have untaxed income of £2,500 or more (although some pensioners may be able to pay the tax on this through their PAYE tax code)
• owe tax at the end of the year that cannot be collected through a change to your PAYE tax code for the following year