Beat the rush and file your tax return early

The January Self Assessment deadline seems like a long way off, but you don’t have to wait until the last minute to file your return.

Self Assessment customers can take advantage of four key benefits when filing early, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed.

Filing ahead of time will give customers more control over their financial affairs and beat the January rush.

The four benefits to filing early are:

• Planning: find out what you owe for the 2022 to 2023 tax year as soon as you have filed, which allows for more accurate financial planning.
• Budgeting: spread the cost of your tax bill with weekly or monthly payments using HMRC’s Budget Payment Plan.
• Refund: Check if you’re due a refund in the HMRC app once you’ve filed.
• Help: you can access a range of online guidance and information to help you file your return and get help if you are unable to pay your bill in full by the 31 January deadline. You may be able to set up a Time to Pay plan.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Customers who file their tax return early get to see exactly what they owe and have more time to budget, reducing the stress around Self Assessment.

“Given that January is the busiest month for HMRC’s phone lines, I urge customers to check out the tips on filing your tax return early on GOV.UK and to consider doing so themselves.”

There is lots of help and support available online:

• customers can access the new online tool to check whether they need to do a Self Assessment tax return.
• HMRC’s top tips for filing tax returns early can be found on GOV.UK.
• ask HMRC’s digital assistant to find information about Self Assessment. If they cannot help, chat live with an HMRC webchat adviser.
• access webinars and videos about Self Assessment

Customers need to be aware of the risk of falling victim to phishing scams and should never share their HMRC login details with anyone, including a tax agent, if they have one. HMRC scams advice is also available on GOV.UK.

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