I recently read an article which suggested that “people in control of their finances tend to live longer (and happier) lives”. I cannot provide empirical evidence to support the above supposition, but I have plenty of anecdotal evidence indicating that being in control is a far more appealing proposition than being out of control when it comes to your personal finances.

Many years ago, I discovered that my aunt was paying £1,000 every year to have her Self Assessment tax return completed by a large UK accountancy firm. Whilst it admittedly gave her peace of mind that everything was being done properly, it still seemed to me to be a high price to be paying. It is also worth pointing out that you may still be personally liable for any mistakes or omissions if you fail to provide your accountant with any relevant information.

There are three stages to completing a tax return. The first part involves collating all the relevant information about your income contained on your P60, P11D, dividend tax vouchers and certificates of bank interest, etc., as well as details of any expenditure, which can be used to offset against income. If all the information is neatly filed in one place, it makes the third stage, i.e. completing the tax return, much simpler.

The most expedient way of filing a tax return is online, but before this can be done, it is necessary to register your account with HMRC and obtain a User ID, which is often easier said than done in my experience. Ironically, given that it is the one which costs all the money, of the three stages, the easiest one is often the actual filling in of the tax return.

As part of the service which I offer, I not only help my clients to devise efficient ways of keeping accurate and comprehensive records, as well as set up their Self Assessment accounts online, but also, depending on their complexity, to complete their tax returns, thereby saving unnecessary accountancy fees. Why not let me help you with your 2016/7 tax return now and avoid the inevitable last-minute panic in January and a potential fine for late-filing?

Incidentally, my aunt is now 92 and in fine fettle, so the article, to which I referred above, may indeed have a ring of truth about it. Furthermore, her tax return only takes fifteen minutes to completeaew