Benefits of Filing Your Tax Return Early

Just to be absolutely clear, completing your tax return earlier does NOT mean that you have to pay your tax sooner.

What it does mean is that you will find out now what tax is due, allowing you to plan your finances accordingly. The vast majority of our barrister clients enjoy the benefits of submitting their tax return paperwork earlier rather than waiting until the deadline and last minute rush.

The benefits of earlier tax return filing include:

• You will know the EXACT amount of your next 3 tax payments, allowing you to set aside funds and manage your cash flow.
• We may well be able to REDUCE your next tax payment due by 31st July (if your income has gone down or your aged debt position has changed).
• HMRC will double check your tax return and agree our calculation. They will also be able to send you up to date statements and details of amounts due.
• By sending us your paperwork earlier, less paperwork is mislaid, allowing us to identify MORE business costs and REDUCE your tax bill.
• HMRC’s window of opportunity to investigate you will close sooner.
• Refunds are accelerated – you should receive any tax refund you are due quite soon after you’ve submitted it. HMRC do not wait until 31st January to pay you.
• Tax Credits – If you are in receipt of Tax Credits or Benefits, you need to renew your claim annually by 31st July. Whilst you may submit temporary estimates, it is better to submit the actual figures to avoid being overpaid or underpaid until the Tax Credit Office has received your actual figures.
• Contacting HMRC – Trying to get hold of HMRC can be difficult due to staff cuts, this is exacerbated around the tax return deadline period. Avoid leaving your queries until December when caller volumes peak.

Additional Benefits

At BarTax, we encourage you to take advantage of the additional benefits of submitting your tax return paperwork earlier. Send us all your paperwork before 31st October and we will collate and prepare your figures for you. You will also benefit from our FREE Quarterly VAT Return Service, should you so wish.

For those barristers that are unable to meet the deadline of 31st October, we will send you a Summary form or email an easy to use Cash Book for you to complete. You should record a total of all your expenses and income and return it to us to allow us to complete your Year End Accounts and Tax Return.

PLEASE NOTE: we will only accept Summaries and NOT your paperwork after 31st October. This generous deadline allows you a full 7 months from your tax return due date to our cut-off date of 31st October.