How to complete your self assessment tax return in 5 simple steps 2024

If you need to complete your self assessment tax return for the year to 5 April 2024, fear not… you’re not alone!

Over 10 million people in the UK tackle their Self Assessment Tax Return each year. Many find it overwhelming, which leads to procrastination and last-minute panic 😱

But don’t worry! By breaking the process into five simple steps, you can stay ahead of the game and get it done with a lot less stress!!

If it’s your first time doing a Self Assessment Tax Return, follow all five steps. For experienced filers, you can jump straight to Step 3.

Step 1: Find Your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference)

Your UTR is a 10-digit code you’ll need to log in to HMRC’s Self Assessment system. It can be found on letters from HMRC.

• New to Self Assessment? You’ll need to register with HMRC to get your UTR. This can take up to 10 days, so don’t leave it too late!
• Top Tip: Lost your UTR? Check online via your HMRC account or call their helpline for assistance (but we recommend calling as close to 8am as you possibly can to avoid being held in a very long queue)

Check out HMRC’s guidance here: How to register for Self Assessment

Step 2: Register Your Digital Tax Account

Your digital tax account is where you’ll complete and submit your return.

• How to set it up:
  • Once you have your UTR, you can visit HMRC’s website to create an account.
  • You’ll receive an activation code in the post.
• Top Tip: Don’t delay this step—waiting for the activation code can take time ((usually within 10 days, but in recent years this has become much longer!)

Here’s your link to: Set up your Personal Tax Account

Step 3: Make a List of Income and Expenses

This step is all about understanding what goes on your tax return.

Income Sources:

• Employment (salary, bonuses, and benefits)
  • This should be prepopulated already by HMRC but do be careful to check they have the numbers correct!!
• Self-employment profits
• Rental income (don’t forget allowable deductions like maintenance)
• Bank interest, dividends, or investments
• Capital gains from selling assets

Expenses:

• Business expenses, e.g., office supplies or travel
• Professional subscriptions
• Property-related costs for landlords

Top Tip: If you or your partner earns over £60,000 and receives child benefit, you may need to repay some through your tax return via the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Here’s a link to find out more about Child Benefit

Step 4: Gather Supporting Documentation

Now it’s time to compile the evidence for the income and expenses listed above.

While you don’t actually have to attach supporting documentation when you submit your return, you should keep everything safe in a file for the year it relates to in case HMRC do come knocking. See below for more on this!

For Income:

• PAYE Employment: P60, P45, P11D, and pension contribution statements
• Self-Employment: Profit and loss accounts
• Rentals: Rental accounts and mortgage interest statements
• Investments: Bank statements, dividend vouchers, and share statements

For Expenses:

• Receipts, invoices, and bank statements
• Proof of mileage or other business expenses
• Evidence of allowable deductions (e.g., home office use)

Top Tips: It is much easier to ensure you claim all of the expenses and allowances you are entitled to if you keep all your records digitally and up to date as you go along, rather than waiting until January to find an expense for something you bought in August 18 months previously!

See below for our top suggestions as to how to make this so much easier…

How to keep great records in real time, and get ahead of HMRC for ‘MTD for ITSA’

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) is coming along from April 2026 for individuals with qualifying income (i.e. income from business or property which is not salary or dividend) more than £50,000, and then being rolled out to more individuals over the following years.

This means that those individuals will be legally required to hold records digitally and report their income and expenditure to HMRC quarterly.

Rather than fight it, we recommend you get ahead of the game and take action now – in reality you will find it easier to ensure you actually claim all the expenses and allowances you’re entitled to by being on top of your income and expenditure!

So, our top tips to get MTD compliant and ace your record keeping are below, and have the added benefit of meaning that you keep your accounting costs lower if you do need to use an external accountant!

1. Use Separate Bank Accounts

• Keep business and personal finances separate.
• This simplifies tracking income and expenses.

1. Invest in Accounting Software

• Tools like QuickBooks, FreeAgent, or our favourite Xero help you stay compliant with MTD.
• Or look for free software that integrates with HMRC’s systems for easy submissions.

1. Use Receipt-Capture Apps

• Go digital to avoid faded or lost paper receipts. Apps like Dext, Apron or Expensify allow you to snap photos and store receipts electronically.
• These apps may seem like expensive additional costs, but if you value your time you will find them worth every penny!
• Speak to your accountant too, as we have a partner plan with Dext, meaning that we can offer this software to our business clients at a fraction of the cost to them if they were to go directly.

1. Log Expenses Immediately

• Record transactions as they happen to avoid end-of-year stress.
• Set weekly reminders to reconcile your accounts.

1. Create a Filing System

• Organise digital and physical files by category (e.g., travel, equipment) or month.
• Cloud storage services like Google Drive or OneDrive make access easy.
• Or you may prefer a simple spreadsheet – reach out to us via our contact page if you would like us to send you a template version which we have developed for our small business clients
• Or you might even to be able to do this via your banking app as they become more aligned to the needs of small businesses

1. Review Regularly

• Conduct monthly reviews of your records to catch errors early, and if you’re not sure, ask for help!

How long do I need to keep these records once I’ve submitted my tax return?:

If you are not self employed:

• You will need to keep records for a minimum of 22 months after the end of the tax year that the return relates to, provided you have submitted your return on time.
  • So, for example for the current tax year of 2023-2024 you will need to keep your records until at least the end of January 2026.
• If you submitted your return late you must keep your records for at least 15 months after the date on which you submitted your return

If you are self employed:

• You will need to keep the records relating to your business income and expenditure for at least 5 years after the filing deadline of the tax year in which you are filing for
  • So, for example for the current tax year of 2023-2024 you will need to keep your records until at least the end of January 2030!

Step 5: Log In, Complete, and Submit

Once everything is ready, it’s time to submit your return.

• Log in to HMRC’s website here, and follow the prompts.
• Enter all the information from your lists and supporting documents.
• Double-check everything before submitting.

Top Tip: Save your progress as you go—HMRC’s portal can time out 🙈

As ever, if you need any help, or indeed you just don’t want the hassle of doing this yourself, then please reach out and the IN Team will be happy to help 😀

 

PS the video is a few years old and details around Child Benefit have recently changed, but everything else still applies…