If you’re filing your tax return online, you’ll log in with your Verify or Government Gateway account. You fill in the form section by section, and this is usually straightforward – provided you have all the necessary figures from the past tax year. So make sure you have:
- Your P60 or P45 (if you were employed for that tax year)
- Your P11D (if you had one)
- Records of all your other income (earnings, rent etc)
- Details of any
- work-related expenses (if you are self-employed)
- investments you hold (or have sold in this tax year)
- interest earned
- gifts you’ve made to charity
- benefits claimed (including child benefit)
- pension / State Pension income
- student loan repayments
- redundancy payments
- compensation
You’ll also have to provide details of any tax avoidance schemes in which you participate (so that HMRC can confirm that these are legitimate).
As you can see, it’s a good idea to keep careful track of all these details throughout the year and keep the information in a safe place, so that when you come to fill in your self-assessment, you just open the file and get going.
If you’re submitting a paper form by post, you’ll need to download it and print it off from the government website. However, with a paper form it’s easier to make a mistake and accidentally leave a box blank, so online filing is recommended.
