In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, a tax return is a
document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...
that must be filed with
HM Revenue & Customs
, patch =
, patchcaption =
, logo = HM Revenue & Customs.svg
, logocaption =
, badge =
, badgecaption =
, flag =
, flagcaption =
, image_size =
, co ...
declaring liability for
taxation
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...
. Different bodies must file different returns with respect to various forms of taxation. The main returns currently in use are:
*SA100 for individuals paying
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
*SA800 for
partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...
s
*SA900 for
trusts and
estate
Estate or The Estate may refer to:
Law
* Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations
* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries.
** The Estates, representat ...
s of deceased persons
*CT600 for companies paying
corporation tax
*VAT100 for
value added tax
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
Income tax self-assessment
Most employees paying tax under the PAYE system are not required to file a tax return, because the PAYE system operates to withhold the correct amount of tax from their wages or salaries. However, some tax payers, including employees, may have income that has not been taxed at source and needs to be declared to HMRC, usually by submitting a self assessment tax return.
Legally, a tax payer is obliged to submit a tax return when HMRC request one by sending a notice to file a tax return, either because the tax payer has registered for self assessment voluntarily or because HMRC believe one to be required - HMRC can request a tax return from anyone for any reason.
Under UK tax legislation, tax payers are obliged to notify HMRC when they have a liability to tax no later than 9 months after the end of the tax year in which they became liable. Depending on the circumstances and the tax owed, they may do this by registering for self assessment and completing a tax return by January 31.
Whilst there is no legal obligation to register for self assessment for income tax purposes when there is no liability for tax, HMRC guidance states that a tax return is required for the following reasons, some of which are not statutory:
*the self-employed including someone in a partnership
*
controlling company director, but not a director of a non-profit organisation or anyone not receiving any payments or benefits
*a minister of any religion
*a name or member of
Lloyd's
*income from savings and investments of £10,000 or more
*income from untaxed savings and investments of £2,500 or more
*income from property of £10,000 or more before deducting allowable expenses or £2,500 or more after deducting allowable expenses
*employment income on
PAYE above £100,000
*anyone living or working abroad or is not
domiciled in the UK
*having
Capital Gains Tax
A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.
Not all countries impose a c ...
to pay
*anyone who owes tax and it can not be collected through the
tax code. For instance when the taxable
Basic State Pension, combined with other untaxed income, is greater than the
Personal allowance
*anyone who has benefits in kind or out of pocket expenses which may be taxed as an employer does not have a dispensation
*parents who earn over £50,000 and need to repay
Child benefit#United Kingdom
The standard form in use is the SA100, complete with additional sheets for particular sources of income. A short tax return, form SA200, is available for those with incomes below £30,000. HMRC selects those who can complete a SA200.
The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Tax returns must be completed by 31 January following the end of the relevant tax year for those who complete the tax return online and by 31 October following the end of the tax year for those who file by a paper return.
Once registered, tax payers can submit their tax return online directly via the HMRC website, or from online platforms.
Partnerships
A partnership, including one in which all partners are companies, files form SA800. The partnership itself does not normally pay income tax, capital gains tax or corporation tax, but is required to provide a Partnership Statement to each partner reporting that partner's share of income and gains. Individual partners are also required to file self-assessment tax returns; although a partnership is not considered a separate
legal entity
In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason fo ...
like a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
it is still a form of taxable business income.
Trusts and estates
A trustee, including trustees of certain pension schemes, must file form SA900 by 31 January following the end of the relevant tax year for those who complete the tax return online and by 31 October following the end of the tax year for those who file by a paper return. A
personal representative administering the estate of a deceased person must file a form SA900 if the affairs of the estate are complex. Whether or not a tax return is required, each
beneficiary
A beneficiary (also, in trust law, '' cestui que use'') in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person wh ...
's share of taxable income is reported to the beneficiary on form R185.
Corporation tax self-assessment
A company must file a return, using form CT600, and assess its liability to tax, normally within 12 months of the end of its accounting year.
PAYE deductions
Before the advent of Real Time Information (RTI), at the end of the tax year, employers operating
PAYE schemes had to report to HMRC their employees, the total that had been paid to them, the amounts of income tax and
national insurance
National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...
contributions (NICs) that had been deducted from those payments, and the amount of employer's NICs due. This was done on form P35.
Since 2014, this form has been obsolete and employers have been required to report this information electronically in real time.
See also
*
Tax return (Australia)
*
Tax return (Canada)
*
Tax return (United States)
References
{{Reflist
External links
HMRC self assessment pages for individualsCompanies House
Taxation in the United Kingdom
Tax forms