Month: August 2023

The £100,000 threshold for Self-Assessment change for taxpayers taxed through PAYE only, increased from £100,000 to £150,000 with effect from 6 April 2023. However, the Self-Assessment for 2022-23 tax returns remains at £100,000.  

Taxpayers who submit a Self-Assessment tax return for 2022-23 showing income between £100,000 and £150,000 taxed through PAYE and do not meet any of the other criteria for submitting a Self-Assessment return will be sent an exit letter by HMRC. This will remove the requirement for an annual Self-Assessment tax return to be submitted by qualifying taxpayers.

For the 2023-24 tax year onward, taxpayers will still need to submit a Self-Assessment tax return if their income taxed through PAYE is below £150,000 but they meet one of the other criteria for submitting a Self-Assessment return, for example:

• receipt of any untaxed income;
• partner in a business partnership;
• liability to the High Income Child Benefit Charge; or
• self-employed individual and with gross income of over £1,000.

Taxpayers that need to complete a Self-Assessment return for the first time should inform HMRC as soon as possible. The latest date that HMRC should be notified is by 5 October following the end of the tax year for which a Self-Assessment return needs to be filed. If you are required to submit a Self-Assessment return for 2022-23, you should ensure that you file your tax return electronically and pay any tax due by 31 January 2024.

HMRC has an online tool available at www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return/ that can help taxpayers decide if they are required to submit a Self-Assessment return.

The gift aid scheme, which was originally introduced in 1990, allows charities to reclaim from HMRC the basic rate of Income Tax deducted from qualifying donations by UK taxpayers. This means that where a basic rate taxpayer claims gift aid on a £100 donation, the charity can reclaim from HMRC the £25 of tax paid on that donation.

If you are a higher rate or additional rate Income Tax payer you can also claim additional tax relief on the difference between the basic rate and your highest rate of tax.

For example:

If you donated £5,000 to charity, the total value of the donation to the charity is £6,250. You can claim back additional tax back of:

• £1,250 if you pay tax at the higher rate of 40% (£6,250 × 20%),
• £1,562.50 if you pay tax at the additional rate of 45% (£6,250 × 25%).

Taxpayers also have the option to carry back their charitable donations to the previous tax year. A request to carry back the donation must be made before or at the same time as your previous year’s Self-Assessment return is completed.

This means that if you made a gift to charity in the current 2023-24 tax year that ends on 5 April 2024, you can accelerate repayment of any tax associated with your charitable giving by carrying back the donation to the previous tax year, 2022-23. This can be a useful strategy to maximise tax relief if you will not be paying higher rate tax in the current tax year but did so in the previous tax year. This should be done as part of the Self-Assessment tax return for 2022-23 which must be submitted by 31 January 2024.

You can only claim if your donations qualify for gift aid. This means that your donations from both tax years together must not be more than 4 times what you paid in tax in the previous year.

Self-assessment taxpayers are usually required to pay their income tax liabilities in three instalments each year. The first two payments are due on:

• 31 January during the tax year e.g., for 2022-23 the first payment on account was due on 31 January 2023.
• 31 July following the tax year e.g., for 2022-23 the second payment on account was due on 31 July 2023.

These payments on account are based on 50% of the previous year’s net income tax liability. In addition, the third (or only) payment of tax will be due on 31 January following the end of the tax year.

There is no requirement to make payments on account where your net Income Tax liability for the previous tax year is less than £1,000 or if more than 80% of that year’s tax liability has been collected at source.

The payments are based on 50% of your previous year’s net income tax liability. If you think that your income for the next tax year will be lower than the previous tax year, you can apply to have your payment on account reduced. This can be done using HMRC’s online service or by completing form SA303.

HMRC’s internal manuals are clear that a reason for requesting a reduction in the payments on account must be given. A request without a reason is not a valid claim.

There are no restrictions on the number of claims to adjust payments on account a taxpayer or agent can make. However, there is a time limit which means that the claim must be received before the 31 January following the tax year in question, for example by 31 January 2024 for the year 2022-23.

There is no requirement to notify HMRC if your taxable profits have increased year on year.