How To Meet your 2020 Tax Return Deadlines

You need to make sure you don’t miss your 2020 self-assessment tax return deadlines or else you could face a financial penalty from HMRC. Failing to pay the tax you owe on time, will probably mean you’ll face extra penalty fees and interest charges.

However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the government have introduced a raft of measures to help support the self-employed and small business owners that may fall into difficulties due to the crisis and the effect lockdown is having on businesses.

Here is a short summary of the key changes to the 2020 tax deadlines that we have seen:

1. If you have a ‘payment on account’ to make in July 2020, you have the option to defer your payment until January 2021 if this will cause you less financial hardship. You can also defer any VAT payments that are due this year too.
2. For the self-employed, the government gave a four-week extension to file their tax returns, starting from  26th March if they missed their January 31st 2020 deadline.
3. The 31^st January 2020 was the final deadline for online tax returns for the 2018-19 tax year. You must file your returns online to HMRC before midnight to meet your deadline. The only exception for this is if HRMC gave you notice to make your online tax return after 31^st October 2019. In this case, you would have had three months to file your return from the date of issue.
4. The 31^st January is also the date you have to make your first payment on account for the 2019-20 tax year, and a final balancing payment if you still owe any tax from your 2018-19 income.

Other important tax-related dates for your diary

Let’s look at some of the upcoming important and key tax-related dates for this year and any changes that the government have introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic:

6^th April 2020: This is the first day of the new 2020-21 tax year. This is the date any new tax rates and allowances for the 20/21 tax year came into effect that was announced in the budget.

This is also the date that you can file your 2019-20 tax return form if you have all the information you need to do so.

31^st  July 2020: This is the date that your second payment on account is due if you are self-employed and pay your tax through payment on account. You need to submit your payment by midnight on the 31^st of July. However, due to the emergency coronavirus measures brought in by the government this year, you can choose to defer this payment until 31^st January 2021.

The amount you need to pay for your second payment is an estimate based on your 2018/19 earnings. Should you have earned more during the 18/19 tax year than you did during the 17/18 tax year, you will need to pay a balancing payment by 31^st January 2021. This is also when you need to make your first payment on account to cover the 20/21 tax year.

5th October 2020: For those new to self-employment that have never submitted a self-assessment tax return before, this is the date to register by to enable you to submit your self-assessment for the 2019-20 tax year.

Registering by this date enables you to have plenty of time to get your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number. HMRC will issue you with this as well as an activation code to make your UTR life. This will give you enough time to file your first self-assessment tax return.

31st October 2020: This is when your paper tax return is due if you chose to submit your self-assessment on paper. However, should HMRC tell you to send your return after 31^st July 2020, you will have three months from the date issued on the notice to submit your return.

If you miss this deadline for your paper-based return, don’t file it late as this could incur a fine. Instead, you file an online tax return as these are not due until the 31^st January 2021, but don’t submit both a paper and an online return – choose one or the other.

30th December 2020: This is the date to opt into PAYE. If you are self-employed and also have earnings taxed under the PAYE system, you can choose to have any overdue tax you owe collected via your tax code throughout the following tax year.

To be able to do this your tax bill must be lower than £3,000 and you must file your online return by this date. Doing this will enable you to spread out your tax payment over 12 months rather than having to pay a lump sum by 31^st January 2021.

How to simplify your self-assessment tax returns

As a self-employed sole trader or a small business operating in the Portsmouth or Hampshire area, taxation can often be a confusing or frustrating thing to cope with.

Luckily, you can get a helping hand with your tax returns with VW Taxation. We are a tax and accounts service business specialised in helping small businesses and self-employed individuals working in the construction industry who are registered with the Government Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

Services VW Taxation provide include:

• Self Assessment Tax returns for CIS workers
• Self Assessment Tax returns for all self-employed
• Tax and accounts for Limited Companies (CIS and all other small businesses)

Our friendly team at VW Taxation have a jargon-free simple approach. We use no fancy accounting terms, just simple, easy to digest advice. The majority of our clients are construction workers registered under the CIS scheme.

Why not contact us today to discuss your needs. We are here to help!