Self Assessment Tax Returns In Birmingham
A Self Assessment return tells HMRC what you earned outside PAYE in the tax year that ended on 5 April, and HMRC works out your bill from it. Vtrahe, an English and Russian speaking accountancy practice and law firm in Birmingham, prepares and files returns for sole traders, landlords, company directors and people with income from abroad, and we go through the figures with you in English or Russian before anything is sent.
Check Whether You Have To File
You must send a return for a tax year if any of these applied to you in it:
- You earned more than £1,000 from self employment, counted before expenses.
- You were a partner in a business partnership.
- You sold property, shares or crypto and owe Capital Gains Tax.
- You or your partner earned over £60,000 and got Child Benefit, and the charge is not being collected through your tax code.
- HMRC sent you a notice to file.
You may also need one for untaxed income such as rent, dividends, savings interest or tips, and for income from abroad, even when that money never leaves a bank account in Moscow, Kyiv or Riga.
Income From Russia, Ukraine Or The EU Goes On The Return
Once you are UK resident the UK taxes your income from everywhere, so rent from a flat in St Petersburg, interest on a deposit in a Ukrainian bank and wages still paid by a Polish employer all belong on the foreign pages of the return. Tax already paid in the other country can usually be set against the UK bill, and we work that out source by source.
Two changes matter here. Russia suspended parts of its tax treaty with the UK in August 2023, including the articles on dividends and interest, so more tax may be taken in Russia than before and claiming relief here takes different paperwork. And if you moved to the UK after 10 years living elsewhere, the rules that replaced the remittance basis let you claim relief on foreign income and gains for your first 4 tax years here, but only on a return, so the relief is lost if you do not file.
Your Return Has Four Dates Every Year
- 5 October after the tax year ends, to register if it is your first year.
- 31 October for a paper return.
- 31 January to file online and pay the balance plus the first payment on account.
- 31 July for the second payment on account.
If you are employed, owe less than £3,000 and file online by 30 December, HMRC can collect it through your tax code over the next year instead.
Missing The Deadline Costs £100 Straight Away
- £100 the day after the deadline, even if you owe nothing.
- £10 a day after 3 months, up to £900.
- 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is more, at 6 months and again at 12 months.
Paying late is charged separately: 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months, with interest on top.
Making Tax Digital Now Applies To Some Sole Traders And Landlords
Sole traders and landlords whose self employment and rental income comes to more than £50,000 keep digital records and send HMRC an update every quarter, with the final return still due on 31 January. That line drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028, and anyone inside it moves onto HMRC’s points based penalties. We set up the software and send the quarterly updates for clients who are in.
You May Be Owed A Refund
A return can end in a repayment instead of a bill. The usual reasons:
- CIS deductions were taken at 20% without your expenses or personal allowance being counted.
- You started or stopped work part way through the year.
- An employer used the wrong tax code.
- You paid into a personal pension or gave to charity as a higher rate taxpayer and never claimed the extra relief.
Claims go back 4 tax years, so the oldest year drops off every 5 April.
What We Do With Your Paperwork
- Send us bank statements, invoices, your P60, letting statements and any foreign income figures, in Russian, Ukrainian or English.
- We sort the expenses, claim what you are entitled to and show you the bill before filing.
- Once you approve it we file online and send you the SA302, which you will need for a mortgage.
- You get a reminder before 31 January and 31 July.
Contact Us Today
Call +44 7756 548969 or fill in the Self Assessment Form. Not registered with HMRC yet? We can register you and get your UTR number first. Full rules on gov.uk.
If your last bill was more than £1,000, HMRC asks for half of next year’s estimated bill on 31 January and the other half on 31 July. Nothing is due on account if at least 80% of your tax was already taken through PAYE or other deductions.
In your first year of self employment this makes the January bill much bigger than people plan for, because it covers the year just finished plus the first advance payment for the current one. If your income has dropped we can apply to reduce the payments on account.
I am a company director. Do I still need a return?
Not automatically. You need one if you took more than £10,000 in dividends, have other untaxed income, or HMRC sent you a notice. Smaller dividend amounts can be collected through your tax code if you tell HMRC, but with rent or other income as well a return is usually simpler.
I only rent out one room or one small flat. Do I need to file?
Up to £1,000 of property income is covered by the property allowance. Between that and £2,500 of profit HMRC can normally collect the tax through your tax code. Above £2,500 profit, or £10,000 of rent before expenses, you need a return.
I should have been filing for years. What now?
File the missing years before HMRC writes to you, because penalties for a voluntary disclosure are lower than for one HMRC finds. Unreported income from abroad goes through HMRC’s Worldwide Disclosure Facility. We prepare the figures and the disclosure.
Do my documents need to be in English?
No. Send them in Russian, Ukrainian or whatever language they are in and we translate the figures that go on the return.
Why Clients Choose Vtrahe
- Returns prepared by accountants who speak Russian.
- Income from Russia, Ukraine and the EU declared correctly.
- Fixed fee agreed before we start.
- CIS refunds filed early in the tax year.
- Reminders before every payment date.
Contact Us
Send your documents in whichever language you have them and we will quote a fixed fee.