Self Assessment

Got my first Self Assessment info back today. I was pretty sure I owed around £350 or so. Very simple form stating I owed nothing for 20-21. There wasn't much on the form showing why they came to that conclusion, but I'll just file it away and hope they were right.

Now I just need to make sure I register for next years so I can do it online.

Got my first Self Assessment info back today. I was pretty sure I owed around £350 or so. Very simple form stating I owed nothing for 20-21. There wasn't much on the form showing why they came to that conclusion, but I'll just file it away and hope they were right.

Now I just need to make sure I register for next years so I can do it online.

Excellent! No need to argue with that!

Never a terrible idea to try to understand why you don’t owe what you thought. They can sometimes do compliance checks/ send letters asking you to check to make sure.

It’s SELF Assessment, not HMRC Assessment, after all. So the onus is on you to do it correctly (rightly or wrongly, that’s the view the law takes…).


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Something similar happened to my return this year and a couple of weeks after I had received the simple statement from HMRC I received a more detailed one explaining the difference.  In my case it was the first year of receiving OAP and there is no end of year statement saying how much I received during the year so I reported how much went into my bank account. I apparently got it wrong as I thought the payment I received on April 19th was to be reported in the next tax year.

Never a terrible idea to try to understand why you don’t owe what you thought. They can sometimes do compliance checks/ send letters asking you to check to make sure.

It’s SELF Assessment, not HMRC Assessment, after all. So the onus is on you to do it correctly (rightly or wrongly, that’s the view the law takes…).


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Not sure what the point of having the Self Assessment folks if they aren't there to make sure I do it right. I sent them in a nice description of where my money comes in from, and what I get to discount (like marriage allowance transfer)....did the calculations as well as I could.....sent it in. Talked to the HMRC people a couple of times and I am/was following their directions. Even though I told them on the phone that I thought I owed around £350.....they told me to fill out the forms as well as possible and get them sent in.....and that I would hear something by the end of December, and if not....call them again in January.

About 10 years ago while we were living in the US my wife had to do a Self Assessment for year we left the UK (about 2011). She sent one in with a payment of a couple hundred or so (by their calculations and letter to her).....couple months later they sent MORE than that back to her. No real reason given.....just a mystery.

Got my first Self Assessment info back today. I was pretty sure I owed around £350 or so. Very simple form stating I owed nothing for 20-21. There wasn't much on the form showing why they came to that conclusion, but I'll just file it away and hope they were right.

Now I just need to make sure I register for next years so I can do it online.

Once you've registered online, you can log into your account and "View your calculation" - it's a nice summary of all your income and how they've worked out your income tax. A simple page or two, pretty easy to follow, nice way to tell exactly how they arrived at the conclusion that you don't owe anything.

Once you've registered online, you can log into your account and "View your calculation" - it's a nice summary of all your income and how they've worked out your income tax. A simple page or two, pretty easy to follow, nice way to tell exactly how they arrived at the conclusion that you don't owe anything.

They send you your calculation if you file on paper.

I can only assume there's been a screw up on their part. None of what they have on this paper makes sense. I'll probably wait until after the new year and give them another call. Without digging the paperwork out (which means IF I can find it)...I had around £14000 in US Social Security and another £2000 or so in bank interest.....so....I had income. This is what they had on this sheet....

Income received (before tax taken off)-------£0
Minus Personal Allowance---                         £12,500
Total Income                                                     £0

Total Income on which tax has been charged  £0
Income Tax due after allowances and reliefs   £0
Minus Marriage Allowance transfer   £1250  x  20%%  = £250

Income tax due after tax reductions          £0

I can only assume there's been a screw up on their part. None of what they have on this paper makes sense. I'll probably wait until after the new year and give them another call. Without digging the paperwork out (which means IF I can find it)...I had around £14000 in US Social Security and another £2000 or so in bank interest.....so....I had income. This is what they had on this sheet....

Income received (before tax taken off)-------£0
Minus Personal Allowance---                         £12,500
Total Income                                                     £0

Total Income on which tax has been charged  £0
Income Tax due after allowances and reliefs   £0
Minus Marriage Allowance transfer   £1250  x  20%%  = £250

Income tax due after tax reductions          £0

Yeah, in that case I would get in touch.

Please do get in touch with them!!

A note on interest:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings


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Please do get in touch with them!!

A note on interest:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-tax-free-interest-on-savings


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Yeah, I know about some of the interest being tax free. On the phone waiting to talk to them at the moment. I owe some tax...not sure how much, but this first note they have sent is just wrong. I probably sent in a rubbish self assessment, but.....

Just pulled out what I had sent in. About £14,700 in social security. Ended up with  £16107 total income before taking things off. Went over the tax threshold by £1277.

Had to wait a good while, but got hold of a guy. Yes, another letter should be here in the next week or two and he did tell me I owed £193. Better than I thought from my original math work, so still good times as far as I'm concerned.

Jeez...so much for waiting a week or two....just came in the mail.

Great news Fred, so pleased that you have it sorted out.

In my case it was the first year of receiving OAP and there is no end of year statement saying how much I received during the year so I reported how much went into my bank account. I apparently got it wrong as I thought the payment I received on April 19th was to be reported in the next tax year.

The yearly amount to report is a great mystery for most people.

Near the end of March each year you will receive a letter from the Pension Service giving the weekly amount you will receive each week for the State Pension for the coming year. Generally, if you multiply by 52, you can declare the result as the amount of State Pension received for that coming year when completing the self assessment for that year. For me, this year (20/21), HMRC have agreed.

I say generally, because in the past it hasn't always worked. The letter will give the date when the new amount will commence, and a similar letter for the following year will tell you when the year ends (by default) and when the next year commences. You'll often find it's not an exact 52 weeks within the April 6 to April 5 dates, and therein lies the rub. Pendants may want to work out the amount by calculating the exact number of days (which still doesn't always work). HMRC may, or may not, agree.

Don't worry about it. When you receive the final self assessment calculation (I've had 3 this year) HMRC will include the amount in UK source income it feels you owe. If it's close to the amount you estimate, it's simplest to just agree. Not the route for pendants, but the one I use.

How much went into your bank account during the tax year very rarely gives the right amount for HMRC.