How Do I Pay My Self Assessment Tax Online?
If youre self-employed or you have a source of income that isnt from your salary, savings, or pension, youll probably need to familiarise yourself with Self Assessment tax. While Self Assessment may seem complicated, its much easier than it looks. Self Assessment is the system used by the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to collect income tax. Usually, income tax is deducted automatically from your wages, savings, or pension, but in cases where people or businesses have income from other sources, youll need to send a Self Assessment tax return so that HMRC can calculate the amount of tax that you need to pay. Youll need to send a Self Assessment tax return if  during the last tax year  you were self-employed as a sole trader (and earned over 1,000) or you were a partner in a business partnership. However, its not just self-employed people who need to file a Self Assessment tax return. You may also need to send a return if you have other sources of income, including:  Money from renting properties  Tips and commissions  Foreign income  Income from investments, dividends, and savings  Furthermore, you may need to file a Self Assessment tax return if you want to claim Income Tax relief, prove that youre self employed (this may be necessary to claim Maternity Allowance and so forth), or receive Child Benefit. If you havent submitted a Self Assessment tax return before, youll need to register. Depending on whether youre a sole trader/self-employed, registering a partnership, or not self-employed, there are a couple of different methods youll need to use to register. To find out more about exactly what course of action you need to take, see the governments guidelines on the subject. After you register for Self Assessment tax, you can send your return. You can do this online, using commercial software, or on paper forms. Its worth noting that you must use commercial software or paper forms to send returns for a partnership, trust and estate, if you lived abroad (as a non-resident), if youre a religious minister, if you receive income from a trust, if youre a Lloyds underwriter, or if youre reporting profits made from selling/disposing of multiple assets. Once the return has been sent, its time to make your Self Assessment tax payment. Self Assessment tax return deadlines vary from year to year. For the 2019-2020 tax year, the deadlines are as follows (but remember, if youre filing Self Assessment tax for a different year, be sure to check the updated deadlines on the governments website):  Register for Self Assessment tax  5 October 2020  File paper Self Assessment tax return  Midnight 31 October 2020  File Self Assessment tax return online  Midnight 31 January 2021  Make Self Assessment tax return payment  Midnight 31 January 2021  If you make your Self Assessment tax return payment too late, you may face a penalty. For example, if your return is up to three months late, youll get a 100 fine. However, if its later than that, your fine will be steeper, so it pays to ensure your tax is filed on time, in advance of the Self Assessment tax return deadline. We can help  GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.