When is the Self Assessment tax return deadline for 2018?
The deadline for filing the online Self- Assessment tax return for the tax year ending 5 April 2018 is midnight on 31st January 2019. There are other deadlines as well which tax-payers have to keep in mind so that unnecessary penalties won’t be incurred. A self-employed person or a person earning income from the personal property will have to file their online tax return by 31st January of every year. Those who miss these deadlines will have to deal with fines and the worst part is, they keep piling up with delay. People have to be vigilant of this fact and pay off their taxes well before the deadline. Or they can take help of an accountancy outsourcing services provider to outsource bookkeeping and to take care of personal tax returns.

The previous tax year ended on 5 April 2018. For any untaxed income earned during the 2017-18 accounting year, the deadline for filing a Self-Assessment tax return is midnight of 31 January 2019. The next online deadline will creep around before anyone realizes, so it is important to be prepared with the dates. 

Here are some of the important dates:

  • 31st July 2018:
    This is the deadline for payers to make the second ‘payment on account’ installment to HMRC. This will only be applicable if a person is self-employed during the 2016-17 tax year and a tax amount of over 1000 pounds is owed when the tax return was submitted.
  • 5 October 2018:
    This is the deadline for self-employed persons to inform HMRC that they are self-employed, so they are aware of when they have to file the tax return the following year. The process does not have to be repeated if one is already registered as self-employed.
  • 31 October 2018:
    This is the Self-Assessment deadline for the tax year 2017-18 if one wants to file a paper return rather than filing it online. However, most businesses find it easier to file their returns online. Under the government’s new Making Tax Digital plans, filing paper returns may not be an option anymore.
  • 30th December:
    It is the deadline for filing the tax return when one wants the tax owed to be collected through PAYE via the tax code. This is only an option is one has already has income that has already been taxed through PAYE. It is applicable if one is employed or self-employed and if the Self-Assessment tax bill for 2017-18 is 3000 pounds and the bill has not been settled yet.

If one continues earning untaxed income from 6th April 2018, it will fall into the category of the tax year 2018-19 which ends on 5th April 2018-19. The deadline for filing the 2018-19 Self-Assessment tax return will be midnight on 21 January 2020. Taxpayers should keep an eye on Making Tax Digital announcements in the case there are any developments.

Taxpayers should start thinking about their tax return as soon as they start earning money. It is a good idea to open a business bank account to keep personal and business accounts separate and to maintain receipts for all deductible expenses. Nowadays it has become much easier to use an app or an online spreadsheet to keep track of income earned. This will help with organization and make everything more streamlined when the time comes to file the tax return.

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by:Mrinal Kamboj