Self employed urged to complete Self Assessment tax returns early

Self-employed beauty therapists, nail techs, hairdressers, barbers and complementary therapists are being urged by HMRC to complete their Self Assessment tax return early to avoid the stress of leaving it to the last minute.

Due to the way COVID-19 restrictions affected how our industry was able to operate during the 2020/21 tax year, completing tax returns may be a little different to previous years. Alternatively, you may have begun working for yourself during the period of 6th April 2020 and 5th April 2021 and never had to submit a Self Assessment tax return before. 

If you're self-employed and earned more than £1,000 between 6th April 2020 and 5th April 2021 you will need to file your paper tax return by 31st October 2021 or file it online by 31st January 2022.

HMRC are also reminding the self-employed that if you claimed any financial support offered by COVID-19 grants or payments, you must declare these. This includes the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), furlough payments through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and any other COVID-19 grants and support payments such as self-isolation payments and local authority grants.

However, the £500 one off payment for working households receiving tax credits does not need to be reported.

If you have never submitted a Self Assessment tax return previously but need to do so for the 2020/21 tax year, you must leave time to register via the Gov.uk website, where you will also find information on record keeping, filing and payments deadlines.

If you are Self Employed you must also register for Class 2 National Insurance.

By submitting your tax return early, you will not be required to make any tax payments yet but will know how much you will owe by the payment deadline of 31st January 2022.