October accounting dates for your diary

October’s here and the Summer’s heatwave is fast becoming a distant memory.
As well as a distinctly Autumnal feel (and Christmas stuff in the shops already!), this month is a busy one for tax – with several important tax dates and deadlines coming up over the next few weeks.

Here’s a run down of some of what October has in store:

4th October: End of childcare vouchers for new applicants

As of the 4th October the traditional childcare voucher scheme, also known as employment supported childcare will no longer be open to new applicants.
If you are already using a childcare voucher scheme, you will be able to stay in it for as long as your employer continues to offer it.

It is being replaced with the new Tax Free Childcare scheme which allows working parents of children under 12 to get a tax top-up into a special online account.

For more information on this, read our blog: Tax free childcare is good news for freelancer and contractor parents.

5th October: Deadline to register for self-assessment

Unless you are already registered for self-assessment, taxpayers who have chargeable income or gains for the 2017/18 tax year, must let HMRC know by 5th October. Remember if you are a company director you are required to register for self-assessment (as well as the other reasons set out below).

If you do not inform HMRC by this date, you may be left open to a “Failure to Notify” penalty if all outstanding tax is not settled on or before 31st January.

When is the tax year 2018?

The 2017/18 tax year ran from 6th April 2017 and ended on 5th April 2018.

Who needs to register for HMRC self-assessment?

If, during the previous tax year, any of the following applied to you, you may need to register for self-assessment and file a self-assessment tax return:

• Were self-employed
• Were a company director
• Received dividends and were a higher or additional rate taxpayer
• Received rental income from letting property
• Made capital gains (for example from selling shares or property)
• Had an income of over £50,000 (or your partner did), and one of you claimed Child Benefit
• Received foreign income
• Moved to / from the UK
• Had a total income of over £100,000

This isn’t an exhaustive list and some exceptions may apply, so always liaise with your accountant and HMRC.

19th October: PAYE Settlement Agreement Date / Q2 PAYE deadline

If you have a PAYE Settlement Agreement, you must pay the tax and Class 1B NI owed by 19th October if you are paying by post (or 22nd October if you are making an online payment).

What is a PAYE Settlement Agreement?

A PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) is a mechanism which allows employers to make one annual payment to cover all the tax and NI due on minor, irregular or impracticable expenses for the business’s employees.

Being granted a PSA means you don’t have to put these expenses through payroll, include them on your end-of-year P11D forms or pay Class1A NI on them at the end of the tax year.

Incidentally, 19th October is also the cut off date for PAYE payments in relation to Quarter 2.

31st October: Deadline for paper self-assessment tax returns

If you are filing a paper self-assessment tax return for tax year ending 5th April 2018, you need to so by 31st October (Halloween).

To complete a paper self-assessment, you will need to download and print off form SA100. Once completed you should post it to HMRC at the following address:

HMRC
Self-assessment
BX9 1AS

Online self-assessment deadline

These days, most people file their self-assessment online and this gives you considerably longer to do it. You have until 31st January to complete your self-assessment online, using the HMRC Government Gateway.

If you haven’t filed an online tax return before, you will need to open an account and for that you will need to have your UTR (Unique Tax Reference) and either your NI number or postcode to hand.

Once you have registered, HMRC will send you an activation code in the post. You then have 28 days to activate your Government Gateway account, after which you will be able to log in and complete your self-assessment tax return.

Help with self-assessment

Although HMRC have improved the self-assessment process over the years, it can still be complicated and easy to make mistakes (for which there could be penalties.)

Every year the tax team at Boox prepare and file hundreds of self-assessment tax returns – you don’t even need to be an existing Boox client.

The pricing for this service is staggered throughout the year – demand is particularly high in the run up to the 31st January deadline but you will also pay more if you leave it until then.

Get your self-assessment started

*Fees charged for this service will be calculated based on time spent on your affairs and will be agreed with you in advance.