[windows_chepstow]

I left mine till right at the last moment and posted it off just before the end of January 2006.

It was only my second ever self-assessment I've done; so I did flap a little bit.

My first year was easy, as I made very little income; honest.

The second year was worse; since my income has increased and I've ended up with a lot heftier bill than in my first year.

My third year isn't going to be much fun at all I think; especially since I haven't budgeted for it.

How do you lot get on with your tax returns and paying for it?

I know Ian_Giles sensibly puts cash away each week for his.

[carl stanton]

naff off!  tax return   
hate doiung it the wife naggs until i do it, found useing a pda helps but not done with tax yet!
good idea to put 20% of your income away, but its hard to do! im not saying if i do or not 
oh you have to pay them aswell as send a tax return in!  :

[callum macleod]

Yes what joy!!!! filing your tax return has to be one of the most boring things i have to do i used to leave it till last minute i now do it sometime in may or june when the weather improves 

[Phoenix]

If you get it in early the tax office (I think before 30th september) tax officewill work it out for you and advise you roughly how much you will have to pay.  I do this and normally by the end of november I know how much it is and this gives me 3-4 months to put money aside for the bill

[carl stanton]

yes sept 30 is the date, and you can even go down, or up as it may be to your local tax office and take in your paperwork and go through it with them!
 my tax office lost my return one year and tried to pin it on my but i had proof i had sent it so they sent another in the post,  but muppet here kept leaving that one and got a slap!! 

[Count Phil]

I got the really small one this year with just a few pages - because i don't use all the sections. If you keep you income below 15K ( for tax purposes at least ahem) you don't have to list every expense individually, only the total amount, which makes it a ten minute job

[carl stanton]

i only earn £30 a day p bowen!!

[Sir Squeaky]

i only earn £30 a day p bowen!!

Pathetic!

I make  nearly £50.

[carl stanton]

squeaky one day i shall have your wisdom of age and nearlly earn £50 

[pjulk]

I try and put some by each week then i see something i need (well want) and there goes the tax money.

Paul

[carl stanton]

i think the best thing is to put it into an account and lock it up till the time comes, there is always a nice new shiney brush to be had otherwise, 
 but then that could result in a bit extra paperwork with that??

[stuart webster]

I give my tax return to my accountant, he charges me £130 does some magic and I pay the bill.

Saving each week is the best way. I have Standing order set up to my ISA and save it there.

[Ian_Giles]

I do a local stroud and swindon each week, so I pay the money for that plus another couple of quid into the ISA I have with them.
It's only £30 a week but it should be enough to cover my tax bill at the end of the year.
Though for the following year I think I'll need to increase it

Ian

[carl stanton]

it feels painful to take good money out of yours days work, thing is we see it in real form cash so can see whats gone, but it is hareder to have to sweat to earn it at the end of tax year so better to put away now! job done and dusted then

[JohnL]

re P Bowen  .  .  .  If you keep you income below 15K  .  .  . 

regretably that is wrong, the 15k refers to ''turnover'' which includes all your income and all your expenses. If you go over that figure you have to fill out the bigger form - ugh

JohnL

[mattstanley]

Yep, leave it to an accountant.

Mine charges £105 + VAT - I'm thorough with my day-to-day bookkeeping - and for that he does my profit and loss statement and fills in the tax return for me, advising what's due and when - I just sign and that's it.

I put aside for my tax monthly.

An accountant is fantastic and I would advise anone to get one - I know I would spend at least a day on my return (and several weeks worrying about it), so I'm not losing anything money-wise.  Plus, he won't let you leave it to the last minute!

My philosopy is declare every single penny and back it up with a good accountant and you will sleep easy at night with a good conscience, you won't worry about being inspected and you won't get any unexpected bills!

[carl stanton]

i think ditto matt!

[Count Phil]

re P Bowen . . . If you keep you income below 15K . . .

regretably that is wrong, the 15k refers to ''turnover'' which includes all your income and all your expenses. If you go over that figure you have to fill out the bigger form - ugh

JohnL

That's what I meant, so when I take off my expenses there's hardly any tax to pay! I feel so guilty not contibuting much to the benefit system/illegal wars in Iraq etc. The amount of fuel tax I pay is my share.

[eddie d]

my acc charges me 350 i give him my book s , my reciepts .   and           get a bill of around 10k for the year.
if your not paying the tax your not earning the money.
my old man is an acc and tells me that its about 1to 2 hours work to do my returns.

[Clear Vision]

I try and put some by each week then i see something i need (well want) and there goes the tax money.

Paul

Great minds think alike