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There are many things to think about when you're self employed - are my clients happy? Did I double book next Wednesday's discovery call? Have I renewed my indemnity insurance? All of which are important, but it is crucial that you are not forgetting about the 'admin' parts to running a business, such as keeping up with the many deadlines set by HMRC.
In this article, we'll be exploring every date that you need to put in your diary and why.
5th October 2023 - deadline to register as self employed.
If you started trading between 6th April 2022 and 5th April 2023 and you have not yet informed HMRC, you must do this before 5th October 2023. To do this, you'll need to set up a Business Tax Account with HMRC here. You'll need a few details to hand such as your national insurance number.
31st October 2023 - deadline to submit a paper tax return.
If you intend to complete a paper tax return, this must be sent to HMRC by midnight on the 31st October 2023. This gives HMRC enough time to calculate your tax liability and inform you of the amount owed. If you wish to submit your tax return online, you can ignore this date.
30th December 2023 - deadline to opt into pay tax via PAYE.
This is an optional one - if you are already paid via PAYE (i.e. if you have an employed position or you are in receipt of a company pension) and your tax liability is less than £3,000, you can opt to pay this via PAYE. This means that your tax code will be adjusted so that the amount owed is collected throughout the year as a deduction to your regular income, rather than in one lump sum.
31st January 2024 - deadline to submit an online tax return, pay what is owed and your first POA for 2023/24.
This is the most crucial deadline, with three things falling due by 31st January 2024.
1. Your 2022/23 tax return must be submitted to HMRC by 31st January 2024, if you are submitting it online (which we'd recommend).
2. Any tax owed for 2022/23 must be paid by this date.
3. Your first payment on account for the next tax year (2023/24) will be due for payment - you can find out more about payments on account in our article here.
31st July 2024 - deadline to make second POA for 2023/24.
After paying everything in 31st January 2024, the final amount due to HMRC will be the second payment on account for 2023/24. This falls due on 31st July 2024.
Final thoughts.
There are a lot of dates and deadlines to keep in mind when running a business which can feel daunting. To add to the stress, HMRC does not send reminders and they are not very forgiving when it comes to missed filings or late payment, issuing some significant penalties as a result. Therefore we recommend adding these dates to your diary.
At Mystyle, we are sure to advise clients of their tax liability and any important dates with plenty of time until the deadlines, so our clients know exactly where they stand in advance. We also take pride in being one of few accountants to send reminders when payment deadlines are approaching and, as a result, we are happy to report that none of our clients have ever missed one of these important dates.
Contact us today for a no obligation quote.