According to HMRC, you are required to send in a tax return in the last tax year if:
- you were self-employed – you can deduct allowable expenses
- you got £2,500 or more in untaxed income, for example from tips or renting out a property
- your income from savings or investments was £10,000 or more before tax
- your income from dividends from shares was £10,000 or more before tax
- you made profits from selling things like shares, a second home or other chargeable assets and need to pay Capital Gains Tax
- you were a company director – unless it was for a non-profit organisation (such as a charity) and you didn’t get any pay or benefits, like a company car
- your income (or your partner’s) was over £50,000 and one of you claimed Child Benefit
- you had income from abroad that you needed to pay tax on
- you lived abroad and had a UK income
- your taxable income was over £100,000
- you were a trustee of a trust or registered pension scheme
- you had a P800 from HMRC saying you didn’t pay enough tax last year – and you didn’t pay what you owe through your tax code or with a voluntary payment
- your State Pension was more than your Personal Allowance and was your only source of income – unless you started getting your pension on or after 6 April 2016
Certain other people may need to send a return (for example religious ministers or Lloyd’s underwriters). Usually, you won’t need to send a return if your only income is from your wages or pension.
There are penalties for non-submission of returns, so if you are at all uncertain that you should submit a return, please call, we would be delighted to offer an opinion.