Who needs to file a tax return?

Most people in the UK do not need to file a tax return because they pay tax at source.

However, there are a few situations when you do need to file a personal tax return. This is also called a Self Assessment.

1. If you have any untaxed income

• You’re self-employed and earned more than £1,000
• You earn rental income over £1,000
• If you made over £12,300 in profit from investments – usually property or stocks; gains from shares in an ISA don’t count. However starting from April 2020, you’ll have to use HMRC’s Real Time Capital Gains Tax Service if you sell property instead of filing a tax return
• You earned more than £10,000 from savings interest – also not from savings within a cash ISA
• You received more than £10,000 from dividends – also not from a stocks & shares ISA
• You’re earning foreign income
• You have any other sort of untaxed income more than £1,000

2. You want to claim a tax refund

• You work in the construction industry through the CIS scheme
• You’ve made investments in SEIS or EIS eligible startups or VCT funds
• You’ve made donations to charity
• You made private pension contributions as a higher rate taxpayer
• You had work expenses over £1,000

3. HMRC tells you to submit one

• You received a P800 form
• HMRC sent you a notice to file a tax return

4. You qualify for benefits

• You need to prove you’re self-employed to claim Maternity Allowance or Tax-Free Childcare
• You want to make voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions and qualify for benefits

5. Other situations

• Your income is over £100,000 – in this case, it doesn’t matter if you already paid tax via PAYE
• You live abroad and had income from the UK
• You claimed Child Benefit and your or your partner’s income was over £50,000
• You’re in a partnership
• You are a minister of any religion
• You are a trustee
• You’re a “name” at the Lloyd’s of London

I’m a director of a limited company – do I still need to file a personal tax return?

Only if you paid yourself dividends over £10,000.

Otherwise, not anymore.

You still need to make sure that your company submits a corporate tax return, however.