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Money, tax and benefits

Money, tax and benefits

Do you need to fill in a tax return?

If you have relatively straightforward tax affairs and already pay tax through PAYE (Pay As You Earn) you probably won't need to complete a tax return. But if you have more complicated tax affairs - or income from several sources - you may need to complete one.

Who needs to complete a tax return?

  • self employed people (including members of a partnership)
  • company directors
  • ministers of religion (any faith)
  • people who get rent or income from land and property in the UK (but if you are an employee and this income is less than £2,500 a year a tax return may not be necessary)
  • people who have other untaxed income and the tax due on it cannot be collected though a PAYE tax code
  • people with taxable foreign income, even if they are not normally resident in the UK (this includes non-resident landlords)
  • anyone who receives annually (or can be treated as receiving) income from a trust or settlement, or any income from the estate of a deceased person, and further tax is due on that income
  • trustees and personal representatives (including people who manage the tax affairs of deceased persons)
  • trustees of certain pension schemes
  • names or members of Lloyd's
  • employees and pensioners with more complex tax affairs - see below

Remember, if you have any income that is not taxed at source, like rents or freelance earnings, you may need to complete a tax return.

Employees and pensioners with complex tax affairs

You need to fill in a tax return if you:

  • have an annual income of £100,000 or more
  • have annual income from savings or investments of £10,000 or more (before tax)
  • claim against tax for expenses or professional subscriptions of £2,500 or more
  • have untaxed income of £2,500 or more (although some pensioners may be able to pay the tax on this through their PAYE tax code)
  • owe tax at the end of the year that cannot be collected through a change to your PAYE tax code for the following year

If you are 65 or over, HMRC may ask you to fill in a tax return so that they can work out how much higher personal allowance or married couple's allowance you should get.

Capital gains

You may need to fill in a tax return if you have 'capital gains' (profits from the sale of certain assets) worth more than the annual exempt amount (AEA). For the tax year 2008-2009 this is £9,600. You may also need to complete one if you've disposed of (eg sold or given away) chargeable assets worth over four times the AEA. 

How to get a tax return

If you've not received a tax return but think you should complete one contact your Tax Office. Your employer or pension provider will have details of this, or you can search online.

You can ask for a tax return at any time - for example, if you want to claim a particular tax relief or exemption. Depending on your circumstances you may be sent a short four-page return, or the full return. You can complete the full tax return online.

If you receive a tax return do you have to complete it?

Yes - even if you pay all your tax through PAYE. A tax return is sometimes required for other reasons, for example to check if the correct tax has been paid overall. So if you are sent a tax return, you must fill it in and send it back even if you believe that you have no extra tax to pay.

Key dates in the tax year

If you send in your tax return late, you will have to pay a fine, and possibly interest on any tax you owe. So it is important to know the deadlines:

  • 31 October is the deadline for sending in your paper tax return if you want HMRC to work out how much you owe (if you file online your tax is calculated automatically on-screen)
  • 30 December is the deadline for filing online if you want HMRC (if possible and when you request it) to collect tax you owe under £2,000 through your PAYE tax code
  • 31 January is the final deadline for sending in your tax return online
  • 31 January and 31 July are the deadlines for paying your tax

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