Tax facts
- Last year HMRC reported that of the 10 million returns due by 31 January, some 8.48 million returns were filed online;
- Over 550,000 were filed on 31 January 2014;
- Around 21,000 were between 11pm and midnight.
- Do you receive child benefit?
Others affected are those who have received child benefit where the higher earner in a couple has an income of over £50,000, so that this needs to be clawed back through the self-assessment system by the higher earner. If the higher earner has income of over £60,000 the full child benefit will be clawed back, and couples in this position might wish to notify HMRC that they do not wish to receive child benefit, so that this clawback complication is avoided. This can be done by following this link
- Remember the deadline to amend
For those who filed 2012/13 returns, the deadline to amend these is 31 January 2015. If any provisional figures were included, or any mistakes were made, these should be corrected by this date.
- Higher rate tax papers and Gift Aid
Finally, for those higher rate taxpayers who make charitable contributions under Gift Aid, remember that contributions made in 2014/15 can be carried back to 2013/14 to get the higher rate relief (which must be claimed in the tax return) earlier. However, this only applies to contributions made before the earlier of 31 January 2015 and the date the 2013/14 return is filed. Someone considering a large donation might like to ensure that this is made before the return is filed so that higher rate tax relief can be claimed a year earlier than would otherwise have been the case.
