Value Added Tax returns for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 are due to be submitted by 7 February 2018, and any payment which is due should be made electronically by the same date.
Archives for January 2018
The Deadline on 31 January 2018.
If you need to file an income tax return by 31 January 2018 and you have done nothing yet, then the first thing you need is a Unique Taxpayer Reference if you don’t have one already. This is a 10-digit number in a format like 12345 67890 and it is not the same thing as your National Insurance Number.
An accountant can apply for one for you at once, but it may take ten days to arrive. The accountant can immediately give you an Application Reference Number, and after a couple of days you can telephone the Revenue on 0300 200 3300 to see if they will give you it over the phone, which they often do. The ARN has a format like A1B2 C3D4 E5F6 GHJ and you only use it once.
With the UTR, a tax return can be prepared and filed electronically at once. You will then need to give the accountant permission to be able to go online and check it, which is another stage that the accountant will deal with.
There is a considerable risk that the deadline will be missed now that things have been left to this late stage. The penalty is 100 pounds, but you would do well to consider the next deadline on 2 March 2018. If you miss this then there is a penalty of 5% of the tax due. This is the deadline that we would target, being realistic.
Companies with a 30 April 2017 year end
Employer Payment Summary by 19 January 2018
It can happen sometimes that when you are an employer, you have not actually made any wage or salary payments for a PAYE month such as the month from 6 December 2017 to 5 January 2018. In that case you must submit electronically an Employer Payment Summary as a NIL return by 19 January. This is too easy to overlook.
If you engage a local accountant and business adviser or a payroll bureau to do your wages, then this will be taken care of. In our case we keep a diary and do a batch of payrolls at about the same time each month. Our payroll files are bright yellow like the old P30BC booklet so we do not overlook them.
Third Quarter PAYE and CIS Payments by 19 January 2018
Employers must make Third Quarter payments of PAYE and NICs by 19 January 2018 if settled by cheque. If you pay electronically, then you have until 22 January to make the payment. Tax retained under the Construction Industry Scheme must also be paid by the same date.
CIS Returns to 5 January 2018
Construction Industry Scheme returns for the month from 6 December 2017 to 5 January 2018 should be submitted online by 19 January. This includes NIL returns.
It is only too easy to forget the need to submit a NIL return when no payments to subcontractors have been made. If you engage a local accountant to do your CIS returns, then this will be taken care of. In our case we keep a diary and do a batch of work at about the same time each month. We aim to be the Carlisle accountants that businesses will turn to for a range of advice and services.
A Company which has missed the 31 December 2017 Deadline
If your company had a deadline of 31 December 2017 for the submission of its accounts to Companies House, and this deadline has been missed, then you still have something to play for, and you should contact Carlisle accountants such as David Porthouse and Co at once. You will incur a penalty of £150, but this penalty rises to £375 after 31 January 2018 if you still haven’t submitted your accounts. These penalties are £300 and £750 if you miss the deadline two years’ running. We can readily prepare and submit your accounts within the month if you contact us now.