7 THINGS CIS WORKERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TAX RETURNS

If you’re in the Construction Industry Scheme you will need to file your self-assessment tax return.  You do not need to wait until the deadline, you can do it now.

1. You are still entitled to the tax-free allowance. In this financial year (2019/20), £12,500 of your income is tax-free.
2. Because you are classified as self-employed, you will need to submit a self-assessment tax return.
3. Your self-assessment will need to detail any income you’ve received from other sources (such as a rental property).
4. You will also need to submit a self-assessment tax return if you wish to claim tax relief on work-related expenses, in which case you may be due some money back (a rebate) from HMRC. You can find out what business expenses you can claim here.
5. If you are married, you should check if you or your spouse is entitled to the marriage allowance. It’s applicable if one of you earns less than the Personal Allowance (currently £12,500) and the other is a basic rate tax payer. The person earning less than the Personal Allowance can transfer £1,250 of their personal allowance to the higher-earning partner, giving a tax saving of up to £250.
6. You can file your tax return now for the tax year 2018/19, you don’t need to wait for the deadline (January 30th 2020). Find out more about our self-assessment tax return service and get in touch with a member of our team to find out more.
7. You’ll be penalised if you’re late. The fine for a late tax return is £100, with additional daily penalties of £10 a day after three months, up to a maximum of £900, with a further increase after six months.

Expense claims

Take care when putting forward your expense claims and make sure you know what constitutes an allowable business expense – we can offer guidance on anything you’re not sure about.

HMRC published a list of dubious expense claims it received last year, including:

• a carpenter claiming £900 for a 55-inch TV and sound bar to help him price his jobs
• £40 on extra woolly underwear, for 5 years
• £756 for my pet dog insurance
• a music subscription, so I can listen to music while I work
• a family holiday to Nigeria.

There were also some interesting excuses for failing to submit a tax return:

• my mother-in-law is a witch and put a curse on me
• I’m too short to reach the post box
• I was just too busy – my first maid left, my second maid stole from me, and my third maid was very slow to learn
• our junior member of staff registered our client in Self Assessment by mistake because they were not wearing their glasses
• my boiler had broken and my fingers were too cold to type.

Not surprisingly, none of the above claims or excuses were accepted by HMRC!

Need help completing your self-assessment tax return?

Few people enjoy doing their self-assessment tax return, which is where our team can step in to do it for you, ensuring it’s done correctly first time, and ensuring you receive the full rebate you’re entitled to without delay.