The Pain-Free Guide to Completing Your Tax Return

If you haven’t already done your tax return, time’s running out with the end of January deadline fast approaching (and if you miss it, you’ll likely receive a £100 fine!). Now’s the time to get down to it: breaking out the spreadsheets and collecting documentary evidence.

If the very thought makes your soul shrivel, I asked Braant Accounting to share some of their top tips…

Gather Your Resources

You’ll need all your bank statements, invoices, receipts and bookkeeping records to make sure your return is accurate. Collect everything you can before you start filling in boxes on the tax return . When you have a challenging task ahead, whether it’s something you actually want to do or something you legally have to do, it’s always much easier and quicker to break it down into chunks that fall into the same category.

Evidence collecting is one category, so get all that done first then move on to adding up numbers, calculating allowances and expenses, and finally filling in the boxes.

A big advantage to filing online is that you can save your progress and return to it later. You don’t need to set aside hours to get it all done at once. And working on one type of task at a time helps you stay focussed rather than scattering your attention and breaking your flow.

Get Help ASAP If You Need It-Don’t Delay!

HMRC has a helpline (0300 200 3310 if you’re after the number!) but it gets busier and busier as the deadline approaches. You may not get through at all, or face a long wait on hold. Similarly, accountants are more likely to be booked up, so if you’d rather hand the whole job off to an expert, don’t delay for another second and get one sorted. And still get your documents in order as far as you can so the job is as complete as you can make it-so you can hand it over to an accountant if you need to!

Organise Your Paper Records

Once you’ve collected all the paper documents you need, put everything in date order. You can devise your own numbering system for receipts, which makes it easier than referencing the long numbers assigned by whoever issued it. As long as your system is clear and logical, how you reference things isn’t that important.

If you have some records stored online (either in folders you’ve created or simply in emails you’ve received) printing everything out can sometimes give you a clearer picture and help you tick things off! While we’re now encouraged by HMRC to keep digital records rather than printing, when you’re short on time it can be quicker to see everything at a glance in front of you rather than switch between different screens.

Learn from the Scramble

As you’re working towards last-minute tax return filing, make a note of the things you’re finding most challenging to at least learn your lesson next year! Are your records all over the place? Do you have to filter personal transactions out of your bank records? Are your allowances hard to calculate?

The things that give you the most headaches this year are the things to focus more closely on next year-and make sure you’re much more prepared.

If your whole system needs an overhaul to make it workable, it’s time to get an accountant now-it can often work out cheaper in the long-run with the time and money it saves.

Procrastinating can be expensive if you miss the deadline but don’t despair, there’s still time if you get cracking today! If you’re looking for tips specifically about claiming expenses as a blogger, give my guide to claiming expenses guide a read too!

This post is in collaboration with Braant accounting