Whilst the deadline for submitting your 2020/21 tax return is 31 January 2022, there are some benefits to dealing with this sooner rather than later:
1. If you are self-employed and made a trading loss, there are various options available for offsetting the loss against other income, including carrying the loss back to earlier years. There is more flexibility if you are in the early years of trading or ceased trading in 2020/21. This claim can result in a tax refund payable to your bank account, possibly within a couple of weeks.
2. If you are a subcontractor in the building industry and usually claim a tax refund, you are able to submit your tax return and claim any refund due, giving you valuable cash funds during what is a very unpredictable time.
3. Anybody else who believes that they have paid too much tax in 2020/21 can submit their tax return now and claim their tax refund. Refunds for tax years from 2017/18 can also still be claimed without submitting a tax return.
4. If you are in employment and incur expenses which are not reimbursed fully by your employer, you can claim these on your tax return. Examples include: professional subscriptions, working from home and business mileage in your own vehicle (this includes bicycles.)
5. Computing your tax liability now means that you can plan ahead and budget for tax payments due.
6. And, of course, submitting your return now means you can forget all about it and feel very smug for being so organised!
If you require any assistance in completing your tax return, then please message me for assistance. I offer a free no-obligation initial meeting (currently conducted in person, over Zoom or telephone) and operate a fixed fee structure so that there are no surprises when you receive my invoice.