Early Bird Advantage for Annual Tax Return, written by Luke Stainton at Kaizen

There is an increasing trend for filing tax returns early, last year, almost 250k returns were filed in the opening week, which was an increase on the previous year.

As you probably know tax returns for 23/24 do not need to be filed until 31 January 2025. But filing early does bring a number of advantages. One big advantage is you get more time to budget and plan for paying any tax bill you have. You also get the peace of mind from knowing an essential task has been ticked off your to-do list and you don’t have that last minute rush at what can be a busy time of year, a time when personal cashflow can be poor after the Xmas spend!.

It is especially good if you have overpaid tax in the year covered as tax refunds will be paid as soon as your return has been processed, the earlier the tax return is filed, the earlier a refund will be received.

Many people don’t know whether they should complete a tax return or not. For the 2023 to 2024 tax year you need to complete a return if:

You are self-employed with an income over £1,000.
You are a partner in a partnership business.
You received any untaxed income in the year over £2,500.
Your taxable income from savings and investments is more than £10,000.
Your taxable income earned from dividends is more than £10,000.
You have paid Capital Gains Tax on assets sold for a profit above the Capital Gains threshold.
You rent out one or more properties.
You claim Child Benefit but you or your partner’s income is above £50,000.
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If you are not sure about Self Assessment and think you might need to complete a tax return, you can use HMRCs on line tool to check your position https://www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return.

If you need help with any aspect of your personal taxation, please do not hesitate to call us on 01482 772261 or email us. We will be very happy to help you with any query you may have.