The Inland Revenue record self assessment tax returns on the " process now and check later" basis. However, checking is rarely made so that any error on your return form, or an error by the Revenue in keying in the data may not be spotted.
The Inland Revenue have admitted that fewer than 400,000 of the 9 million self assessment returns are checked for accuracy - that is about 4%.
And 20% of tax bills sent out by the Inland Revenue contained errors. One in every five.
Clients of this practice receive a Computation Report which shows how the tax liability ( or refund) is arrived at. They know that when they sign the tax return that the figures are correct.
There are specific taxation rules and regulations which should be adhered to. For instance, the Revenue expect you to keep a detailed log of business mileage to support your motor expenses claim. This is a simple record to maintain yet so many people fail to do so properly, if at all. Don't put yourself at risk.
Given that Self Assessment has introduced the random sampling of returns for enquiry it is extremely important that taxpayers protect themselves by ensuring that they have adequate detail records in place to support the amounts entered into the tax return.
Estimations, or "the same as last year plus 10%" simply will not do.
We offer a fixed price Self Assessment service using the latest specialist software. In addition a detailed Computation Report is provided which presents the figures contained in the tax return in a more understandable way.
The annual cost depends upon the complexity of your affairs but starts at £ 85 and the fee quoted holds good for the current and following year's returns. Any change in fees after the second year would be by discussion and mutual agreement - so no nasty surprises.
Free factsheets available, just ask :
- An Introduction to Self Assessment.
- An Introduction to the Tax System for the Self Employed.
- Tax Aspects of Your Home.