Panicking about the Tax Return deadline? This free guide will solve your problems

If you’re a self-employed worker and are registered for Self Assessment with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), it’s absolutely key that you submit your online Tax Return to them before this year’s deadline – midnight on January 31.

While you might think that six days is plenty of time to get this sorted, there are several things that could potentially delay your submission.

The first step, for instance, is to set up an online account with HMRC, and this alone may take up to seven working days as HMRC will need to send you an account activation code via post before you can get started. This means that if you’re setting up your account from overseas, the delay could jump to a painful 21 days.

And, unfortunately, the price of missing the deadline might burn a significant hole in your pocket, with HMRC automatically charging late entrants a £100 late filing charge – whether they have any tax to pay or money owed to HMRC or not.

Luckily, help is out there for fretting business owners and entrepreneurs. To this end, online accounting and payroll software firm Sage One has built an online Self Assessment hub, with free guides designed to take the panic out of the Tax Return deadline.

Featuring tips and advice from accountants, e-guides on how best to avoid penalty fees, access to webinars and informative videos, the hub is open to all self-employed small business owners, and can be found here.

Along with the above, the hub features Sage One’s tax deadline e-book, The Ultimate Self Assessment Guide for Small Businesses: a free, downloadable guide which aims to take you through the Tax Return process with informative and thorough guidance.

The hub also offers a handy, downloadable Guide to Tax Returns, which explains what you’re able to claim as ‘Allowable Expenses’, helping to bring your tax bill down.

The deadline is fast approaching – so what are you waiting for? If you’re struggling to complete your Tax Return, need advice on something specific, or are intimidated by the very thought of starting it, download your free Self Assessment Tax Return guide here.