How to do a Tax Return Online

The self-assessment tax return form is split into two sections. The key section, known as the SA100, requires the following information from you:

• Your untaxed and taxed income (including interest and dividends)
• Any benefits you have received, such as Child Benefit or State Pension
• Your pension contributions
• Any charity donations you have made

If you need to declare additional income as a foreign national or dual resident, or you’re a company director, you receive income from property, from abroad, or from self-employment, then you’ll have to fill out an extra page.

The SA100: How to Fill it In

The GOV help sheets cover how to fill out the SA100. However, they’re not the easiest to understand. The below section of this guide will cover this topic in more detail, section by section.

Income

In the income section, you’ll need to declare taxed and untaxed income that you’ve received from two sources:

• Building society or bank accounts
• Dividends from shares

State Benefits, Pensions, and Annuities

The pensions, annuities, and benefits section applies to you if:

• You’re retired – in this case, you’ll need to provide information on the full amount of state pension you are eligible to receive in the tax year and the total amount (without deductions) of any pension lump sums, including State Pension.
• You’re claiming pension – for which you’ll need to share the amount you’ve received in Jobseeker’s Allowance and Incapacity Benefit and the total of all taxable benefits you have received, including Carer’s Allowance and Bereavement Allowance.

It’s important to note that not all benefits are taxable. You shouldn’t include the following benefits on your form:

• Attendance Allowance
• Child Tax Credit
• Lump-sum Bereavement Support Payment
• Maternity Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Income-related Employment Support Allowance
• War Widow’s Pension
• Working Tax Credit

Other UK Income

If you receive any other taxable income, which doesn’t relate to dividends or interest and isn’t featured in any of the supplementary forms, you should make a note of it here.

It would be best if you also wrote down any applicable expenses for this income and whether or not you’ve already paid any income tax.

Pension Contributions

Here’s where you can write in more detail about any pension contributions you have made into an annuity contract or registered pension. You can also note any contributions made into an employer’s scheme if after-tax deductions were made.

Charitable Donations

In this section, provide information on the charity donations you have made throughout the year. Enter the grand total for these donations. If you’ve donated shares, buildings, or lands to charities, enter the amounts for these too.

Blind Person’s Allowance

If you’re claiming Blind Person’s Allowance, confirm it here.

Student Loan Repayments

As a self-employed individual, your student loan repayments will need to be made alongside your taxes and won’t be automatically taken from your earnings. Here, you should confirm that you’re repaying your student loan if this applies to you.

High Income Child Benefit Charge

This section is relevant to you if your taxable income exceeds £50,000 this tax year, and you currently receive Child Benefit.

Marriage Allowance

You have the option to transfer a portion of your Personal Allowance to your partner if your income this tax year amounted to less than the Personal Allowance. You should complete this section if it applies to you.

If you need to declare additional income from property, capital gains, or self-employment, you’ll be required to fill out the applicable supplementary page of your tax return.

• If you’re self-employed, the SA103 is the page you should fill in.
• The SA105 is for property income.
• You should fill in the SA108 if you need to declare capital gains.

There’s also room to report any applicable expenses on your form. These expenses will be deducted, reducing your tax bill.

There may be other instances in which you need to fill out a self-assessment tax return. For example, if you’re a company director or an employee, some circumstances require you to file your taxes. You may also need to fill in a self-assessment tax return to declare foreign income or a business partnership.

If any of the above applies to you, you’ll need to fill out supplementary pages, but the exact process won’t be explained in this article. You can find more information on the GOV website.

Let’s look in more detail at the SA103, the SA105, and the SA108.

The SA103

Several sections make up the SA103 for self-employed individuals:

Business Income

Your first job will be to total up how much money you’re earning through self-employment and add it beneath the ‘business income’ section. Don’t deduct expenses from this total – it should represent exactly how much money you made prior to any deductions. You may need to add multiple amounts if you have multiple sources of income from self-employment. Your main employment should be the job you earn the most from.

Self-Employed Income Support Grant (SEISS)

You should fill in this next section if you have received an income support grant during this tax year. A SEISS grant isn’t classed as income. Instead, declare this grant in the “Other tax adjustments for your business trading name” section. You’ll need to include the first three grants (paid before April of the beginning of the tax year) on your tax return form. Your last two grants don’t need to be filed or paid for until the next tax year.

Expenses

If you’re self-employed, you should declare your expenses on your tax return to reduce your tax bill. It’s easier to declare expenses if your annual turnover doesn’t exceed £85,000, as you won’t need to itemise each expense. If you currently claim the £1,000 tax-free trading allowance, you won’t be eligible to declare expenses.

Some of the expenses you can declare:

• Cost of work equipment
• Travel and vehicle expenses
• Expenses for work buildings (such as electricity bills, rent, and insurance)
• Staff wages and salaries
• Advertising costs
• Financial charges from banks and credit cards
• Interest on business loans
• Legal and financial service costs, including accountancy

It’s important to have a record of these expenses, not only because it will make it easier for you to declare them but also because you’ll be able to share them if HMRC asks you to produce them.

You don’t need to provide proof, but HMRC may investigate if something doesn’t look right with your expenses. You should keep records of your expenses for at least five years as a precaution.

The SA105

Income

If you rent out properties you own, the SA105 provides space for you to enter income from each property you rent. This form is divided into two sections. The first section requires information about the income generated from furnished holiday lettings in the UK (fill in this section if it applies to you). The second section should be filled in by landlords who receive rental income from other properties.

Expenses

Again, if you claim the £1,000 tax-free trading allowance, you can’t declare expenses from the money you make renting out a property.

Potential expenses for landlords include:

• Money spent on maintenance and property repairs
• Ground rent and insurance fees
• Credit card or loan interest
• Fees for management and legal services

The SA108

Income

Income for Capital Gains Tax is known as disposal proceeds. The SA108 has space for declaring ‘disposal proceeds’ for:

• Residential and non-residential properties, and
• Securities and shares

Expenses

There are a number of expenses you can claim for on the SA108. These expenses are known as allowable costs and include:

• The initial cost of the asset
• Expenses involving any improvements made, which can be proved when the asset is sold
• Other costs involved in selling or buying, like stamp duty

Keeping good records is essential and will prevent you from accidentally claiming twice for the same thing.