What if my income is less than the personal allowance?

Was your income less than the personal allowance this tax year?

You may be aware of the fact that you don’t always pay tax on your income if you earn less than a certain amount. You may not know that there’s actually more than one income threshold to be aware of. It’s not just income tax to think about but national insurance too.

This guides (helpfully) tells you about both!

Do I do a tax return if my income is less than the personal allowance?

In short, yes. You still do.

The only times you don’t need to do a tax return are in these two scenarios:

• Your tax is already paid at source via PAYE
• You earned less than £1,000

That said, even if one of these applies to you, you should still let HMRC know that you won’t be doing a tax return if you’re registered for Self Assessment. Otherwise they’ll be expecting you to declare your income – and they may look into your records to see why you didn’t.

And we can all agree, that sounds like a headache.

Do I pay national insurance?

National insurance entitles you to certain state-provided benefits. Here is some of what it includes:

• State pension
• Job Seeker’s Allowance
• The NHS
• The Maternity Allowance

What happens if I don’t do a tax return? 

If you were supposed to do a tax return and you decided not to, you’ll be charged. HMRC will fine you for filing late (even if you don’t owe any money on your bill), for paying late, and you’ll be charged interest on top. A scary prospect.

1. Filing your tax return late

• 1 day – 3 months late 👉🏽 £100 flat fee
• 3 – 6 months late 👉🏿 £10 per day
• 6 – 12 months 👉🏻 £300 flat fee or 5% of your bill (whichever is more)
• >12 months 👉🏼 £300 flat fee or 5% of your bill (whichever is more)

2. Paying your bill late

• 1 – 30 days late 👉🏽 no penalty
• 30 days – 6 months late 👉🏿 5% of your tax bill
• 6 – 12 months 👉🏻 10% of you tax bill
• >12 months 👉🏼 15% of your tax bill

3. Interest on top, based on how late you are

Check the most up to date interest rate via the Bank of England – here.

Do note that you’ll only be charged late filing or payment penalties and interest if you’ve been issued a notice to file from HMRC. There’s no penalty for not filing a return if you owe no tax and HMRC hasn’t issued you a notice. Hooray!

Deadlines to remember

If you’ve not filed your tax return for the 2023/24 tax year, don’t worry! There’s still plenty of time to get it sorted. 

⏰ Make sure you file by 31st January 2025 ⏰ 

You’ll be charged on this date. The earlier you file, the more time you have to save for the bill. 

Is there any wiggle room with HMRC?

Luckily, yes. There are a few things you can do if you’re already late to file a previous tax return. The best thing to do is get in touch with HMRC. They can either set up a Time To Pay agreement with you (splitting your bill into more manageable chunks) or if you have a reasonable excuse for not paying, you may be able to appeal the penalties.