Client Self Assessment Checklist
Tax Year 2017/18 (Year Ended 5 April 2018)
We recommend that you complete your self-assessment tax return as soon as possible after the end of the tax year (5 April), so you can plan for any tax bill.
The final deadline for submission of your 2017/18 tax return to HMRC is 31 January 2019, together with any final tax payment.
To complete your tax return, we need certain information from you. We would therefore be grateful if could provide all the information noted below, where relevant to your personal circumstances.
If you have any queries on this checklist, please get in touch.
Employment
If you were employed in the year, for each job:
- Name of employer
- Form P60 or P45 (issued by the employer)
- P11D (issued by your employer, showing details of taxable benefits provided by your employer)*
- Details of any redundancy payments you received
* Please advise if any benefits provided in the year were taxed through your employer’s payroll.
If you were you a director or agency worker in the year, provide details of each directorship or agency contract.
If you were you an employee of a company with 5 or fewer shareholders/directors, provide details of the company.
If you were a contractor/freelancer operating through a limited company, please confirm that in your opinion IR35 does not apply to your contracts in the year.
Have you incurred any job-related expenses in the year, which have not been fully re-imbursed by your employer? Examples might include professional subscriptions, business mileage in your private car or costs of public transport whilst on business trips. If so, provide details.
Self-employment
If you were in business as a sole trader or as a partner in a partnership, for each business:
- Name of business
- Nature of the trade
- Confirm if the business was a sole trade or partnership
- Provide either (a) the Annual Financial Statements or (b) the accounting records to enable us to prepare the Annual Financial Statements*
* If you have engaged us to prepare the Annual Financial Statements, we will discuss with you how to keep your accounting records so that that we can complete your Annual Financial Statements.
Income from UK property
If you received income from UK property, including income from land, holiday lettings, renting a room in your home, then for each property/source of income:
- Details of the property and the nature of the income received
- Details of who owns the property (e.g. 100% owned by you or jointly-owned)
- Either (a) detailed Property Rental Accounts for the tax year, showing income and expenditure, or (b) accounting records to enable us to prepare your Property Rental Accounts*
- If you acquired any properties in the year: information on the date of purchase, purchase price, legal fees and other purchase costs; details of any mortgage taken out to fund the purchase; and any improvements made to the property
- If you sold any property in the year: information on date sold, selling price, legal fees and other costs of sale
* If you have engaged us to prepare your Annual Property Rental Accounts, we will discuss with you how to keep your accounting records so that we can complete your Annual Accounts.
Interest paid on certain loans
Have you paid interest on loans taken out for any of the following purposes:
- A loan to purchase a rental property
- A loan to purchase ordinary shares in a company with 5 or fewer directors/shareholders, where you purchased at least 5% of the ordinary shares (e.g. a family-owned company)
- A loan to purchase an interest in a business partnership
- A loan to purchase plant and machinery for use in a business partnership
- A loan to pay inheritance tax?
If the answer is yes, please give us details of the loan and the interest paid, as tax relief may be available.
Income from UK pensions
If you received income from a state pension, workplace pension, personal private pension or a retirement annuity, please provide details of the amounts received in the year, including gross amounts less any tax deductions and any lump sum payments.
For private pensions, relevant information is usually set out in a P60 issued by the pension provider.
For state pensions, the amount received will usually be set out in an annual letter from the DWP.
Other state benefits received
If you received other state benefits in the year, provide details of the benefit type and amount received in the year.
Dividends received
Did you receive dividends from shares held in the year? Shareholdings could be in UK and foreign companies, authorised unit trusts etc.
For each dividend provider (i.e. paying company), let us have:
- Name of the company which paid the dividend
- Net amount received by you
- If the dividend is from a foreign company, the currency of the dividend payment and any foreign tax deducted at source
- Dividend vouchers
Please note that we do NOT need details of dividends from shares held in a tax-free ISA product.
If you are a director of a limited company, for which we prepare the accounts, then you do NOT need to provide details of dividend income from that company. We will review these dividends as part of our preparation of the accounts.
Interest income
If you received interest in the year, from UK banks and building societies, please provide the following for each source of interest:
- Name of bank, building society or company
- Account number
- The amount received in the year
We do NOT need information on interest arising from tax-free cash ISA accounts, prizes from premium bonds and interest from tax-free NS&I savings products.
Other UK income or gifts received
If you have received any other income in the UK, provide details. Examples may include income from share schemes, life insurance receipts and income from trusts.
If you have received any gifts in the year, provide details. Examples include gifts of shares in a company and an interest in a partnership business.
Foreign income
If you are a UK resident, you need to declare your worldwide income on your UK tax return.
If you have received any foreign income in the year, please provide details of amounts received and any foreign tax paid. This includes payments from overseas pension schemes.
Capital gains
Did you sell or give away any assets in the year, which may be subject to capital gains tax? Examples may include shares, property, land and other valuable moveable assets. If so, please provide details of what you sold and:
- Date of sale/gift
- Sales proceeds received
- Any costs of disposal
If you have an investment portfolio managed by a third party, you should obtain a statement from the investment manager.
Investments in EIS/SEIS/VCTs
If you have held investments in any of the following at any time in the tax year, please advise:
- An Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
- A Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)
- A Venture Capital Trust (VCT)
Personal pension contributions paid
If you made contributions to a personal pension scheme, you may be able to claim additional tax relief. To assess whether this is the case, we will need:
- The name of the pension provider
- Your contract/scheme membership number
- The amounts and dates of the contributions. Please state whether the amounts provided are the gross or net of tax figures. If in doubt, send us the paperwork.
We do NOT need details of pension contributions to an occupational pension scheme, which are automatically deducted from your salary by your employer.
Charitable gift aid payments
For each payment made to a charity in the year:
- Confirmation you have given the appropriate gift aid declaration to the charity
- Name of the charity
- Amount donated
- Date of donation
Child benefit and the high income tax charge
If you or your partner received Child Benefit in the year, and at least one of you earned more than £50,000, please give us details of:
- The number of children you have
- The total amount of Child Benefit you and your partner received in the tax year (from 6 April 2017 to 5 April 2018)
Student loan deductions
If you have a student loan, let us know:
- When the loan started
- Whether it is a type 1 or 2 loan
- Details of amounts deducted through the PAYE system or paid via self-assessment, and a copy of your annual statement
If the loan is likely to be repaid within the next 2 years, please advise.
Are you married or in a civil partnership?
If so, and (a) one of you is a basic-rate taxpayer and (b) the other has income below the personal allowance (in 2017/18 < £11,500), let us know – you should be eligible to claim the marriage allowance which will reduce your tax bill.
Were you resident for tax in the UK for the whole of the tax year?
If not, provide details of any periods of non-residency.
Were you tax-resident in Scotland for any part of the tax year?
If yes, provide details of any residency in Scotland.
Were you party to any tax avoidance schemes in the year?
If yes, provide details.
Have you had any 2017/18 income tax refunded or off-set by HMRC or Jobcentre Plus?
If yes, provide details.
If you have a final 2017/18 tax liability and you are an employee with a PAYE code, would you like HMRC to collect any tax due through an adjustment to your 2018/19 tax code?
Please note that this option is only available when (a) the final 2017/18 tax liability is £3,000 or less and (b) your 2017/18 tax return is submitted to HMRC by 30 December 2018.
Any 2017/18 tax not collected through the PAYE system in 2018/19 must be paid to HMRC by 31 January 2019.
Do you have another tax advisor for any work not undertaken by us?
If yes, provide details.
Are you acting on behalf of another person?
If yes, provide details.
Any other issues or changes?
Are there any other issues or changes in your circumstances in the tax year, which may be relevant to your 2017/18 tax affairs?
If in doubt, please get in touch.
If you need more information on any the tax issues noted above or any other advice, please do get in touch for a no-obligation, free discussion. We’d love to help – see our Contact Us page for how to reach us.
Information in this publication is intended to provide only a general outline of the subjects covered. It should neither be regarded as comprehensive nor sufficient for making decisions, nor should it be used in place of professional advice. Whyatt Accountancy accepts no responsibility for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone using this material.