Guide to Self Assessment – deadline for 2010 is November 16th

Self-Assessment gives you greater control and responsibility over your tax affairs. It applies for Income Tax purposes to:

  • Self-employed people (i.e. people carrying on their own business including farming, professions or vocations)
  • People receiving income from sources where some or all of the tax cannot be collected under the PAYE system, for example: profits from rents, investment income, foreign income and foreign pensions, maintenance payments to separated persons, fees, profit arising on exercising various Share Options/Share Incentives.

Under Self-Assessment there is a common date for the payment of tax and filing of Tax Returns, i.e. 31 October. This system, which is known as ‘Pay and File’ allows you to file your return and pay the balance of tax outstanding for the previous year at the same time. Under this system you must:

  • Pay Preliminary Tax for the current tax year on or before 31 October each year,
  • Make your Tax Return after the end of the tax year but not later than the following 31 October.
  • Pay any balance of tax due for the previous tax year on or before 31 October.
  • Pay any Capital Gains Tax on disposals made between 1 January and 30 September of the current tax year.

For more detailed information