UK Tax self assessment

[Bangkokhatter]

I am still required to fill out the self assessment tax return every year, due in part to still having a property there.

Usually i would print out the required forms and then post them back to UK, however as i have just found out postal service back to UK last year was not the best and i now face a fine for not sending the form back in time.

So finally set up a personal tax account online and discover how easy it is to do, apart from the requirement of the SA109 form which enables you to claim non-resident for tax purposes. This is not part of the main tax return form and from what i can see on the HMRC site i may need to download some extra software to do this,  actually am not really sure why ?

So anyone have any experience of software to use and how you actually attach this extra form to the tax return ?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[partington]

When I was in Thailand I used an app called Taxcalc, downloadable from https://www.taxcalc.com.

Works on Windows and Macs, now costs around £30, and  allows you to do up to 6 returns.  

It had all the supplementary pages including non-residence, and worked well, e.g. alerting me to the fact that dividends and interest from investments domiciled outside the UK (like nearly all Vanguard funds and ETFs) weren't taxable at all.

It is very easy to use, guiding you through with interactive questions - you can do your entire return in minutes and submit online.

Saved me a lot of hassle and worth it in my opinion!

[Oxx]

17 hours ago, Bangkokhatter said:

i may need to download some extra software to do this,  actually am not really sure why ?

Why? Because HMRC are a bunch of lazy, inconsiderate so-and-sos.  Clearly expats would be a major beneficiary of tax reporting online, but Hector, in his wisdom, decided not to computerise the non-residence pages.  It's been like that since day one.  So, expats either need to continue reporting on paper (HMRC won't allow you to complete the main return online and submit a paper copy of the non-residence pages), or pay for commercial software to submit the full return.

I would suggest that you use the online account to check whether your paper return has been received to avoid a repeat problem in future years.

[OJAS]

7 hours ago, Oxx said:

I would suggest that you use the online account to check whether your paper return has been received to avoid a repeat problem in future years.

On the "belt and braces" principle he might also wish to consider posting future paper returns using Thailand Post's Registered Airmail service at an extra cost of 85 THB. This should enable him to track them all the way to HMRC, and was how I tracked my latest witnessed State Pension Life Certificate back to DWP a few months ago (and now plan to track my future paper SA returns over and above my Govt Gateway account).

Incidentally it would appear that SA returns submitted from abroad should no longer be sent to HMRC's BX9 1AS address (which, I understand, cannot be used for returns requiring delivery signature in any event) but instead to:-

HM Revenue & Customs
Benton Park View
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
United Kingdom

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-tax-return-sa100

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by OJAS

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

On the "belt and braces" principle he might also wish to consider posting future paper returns using Thailand Post's Registered Airmail service at an extra cost of 85 THB.

That service does not provide tracking to the final destination.  For that you need EMS which costs just short of 1,000 baht.

[Caiman]

I also have UK property and use "ABC Self Assessment" software on Windows PC for £15 exc. Vat each tax year. Many other software providers but this one works well for me. Easy to "file" with HMRC once completed with acknowledgement of receipt.

[OJAS]

18 hours ago, Oxx said:

That service does not provide tracking to the final destination.  For that you need EMS which costs just short of 1,000 baht.

Actually it does. See Thailand Post and Royal Mail tracking of my latest Life Cert attached.

My latest paper tax return cost me 66 THB standard Airmail. Had I sent it registered the total cost would have been 151 THB (with the 85 THB surcharge to which I have referred).

Royal Mail.pdf Thailand Post.pdf

Edited March 21, 2021 by OJAS

[OJAS]

On 3/19/2021 at 8:35 PM, partington said:

When I was in Thailand I used an app called Taxcalc, downloadable from https://www.taxcalc.com.

Works on Windows and Macs, now costs around £30, and  allows you to do up to 6 returns.  

 

18 hours ago, Caiman said:

I also have UK property and use "ABC Self Assessment" software on Windows PC for £15 exc. Vat each tax year. Many other software providers but this one works well for me. Easy to "file" with HMRC once completed with acknowledgement of receipt.

But using either of these commercial software providers still costs way in excess of the postage for paper returns (c. £3.60 including tracking at current exchange rates). Until such time as the "lovable" Hector sees fit to computerise the non-residency supplementary pages I shall probably be sticking with the paper method for my tax returns. I have devised an Excel spreadsheet to assist me with the necessary calculations, which has established a proven track record of success over the years.

 

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

But using either of these commercial software providers still costs way in excess of the postage for paper returns

Unless, of course, your tax return goes astray, or you've made a mistake, or they failed to scan one of the pages, or they ask for additional documentation.

[Caiman]

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

 

But using either of these commercial software providers still costs way in excess of the postage for paper returns (c. £3.60 including tracking at current exchange rates). Until such time as the "lovable" Hector sees fit to computerise the non-residency supplementary pages I shall probably be sticking with the paper method for my tax returns. I have devised an Excel spreadsheet to assist me with the necessary calculations, which has established a proven track record of success over the years.

 

It's £18 including vat, all done from the comfort of your abode with instant confirmation of receipt. Also can do unlimited changes should there be a problem/error or something forgotten.

[Moonlover]

20 hours ago, Oxx said:

21 hours ago, OJAS said:

On the "belt and braces" principle he might also wish to consider posting future paper returns using Thailand Post's Registered Airmail service at an extra cost of 85 THB.

 

20 hours ago, Oxx said:

That service does not provide tracking to the final destination.  For that you need EMS which costs just short of 1,000 baht.

I have sent well over 20 letters back to the UK by 'registered post' and have received delivery notification for every one of them. In some cases I even knew the name of the person signing for them.

[Bangkokhatter]

Thanks for all of your replies, will look into the software mentioned.

 

This is not the first issue i have had with posting my return and i always in the past used registered EMS mail.

 

100 quid fine as well, plus an issue with unpaid council tax whilst i had my place renovated and another fine coming it's not been a good month.

[salavan]

I'm in exactly the same position as you what I did was photograph my additional pages and scan them a copy, 

BTW I think the post is back to normal now so I will go back to the paper version