Self Assessment Hub
Everything you need to file Self Assessment confidently. Deadlines, what documents you need, how payments work, and what to do if you are late.
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Basics
What Self Assessment is, who needs to file, and what counts as taxable income.
14 articles
Deadlines
Key dates for registration, filing, and payment. Do not miss these.
3 articles
Payments
How to pay HMRC, payment on account, and what happens if you pay late.
1 articles
Penalties
Late filing and late payment penalties explained. What to do if you miss a deadline.
3 articles
Documents
Everything you need to gather before you file, organised by income type.
1 articles
Self Assessment, in one page
Self Assessment is how the UK collects tax on income that PAYE cannot reach: self-employment, rent, dividends, gains, and the rest. You register once, then file a return each year for the tax year ending 5 April — online by the following 31 January, which is also the payment date.
The guides in this hub take each part in turn: who has to file, the full deadline calendar, how to pay (including payments on account, the advance instalments that surprise every first-year filer), what the penalties cost, and the documents to gather before you start.
The shape of a stress-managed year
Everything a return needs exists by early summer — P60s by 31 May, P11Ds by 6 July, your own records the day the year ends. File in the autumn and January becomes a payment date, not a deadline. File in January and you are doing the same work with no room for error.
That is the whole difference between taxpayers who find Self Assessment routine and those who find it frightening: when the work happens, not what the work is. Our clients' returns are prepared from records maintained year-round in Compliance Vault™, with every date tracked in Deadline Lock.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to file a Self Assessment return?
If you have untaxed income — self-employment over £1,000, rental income, dividends beyond the allowance, gains, or the High Income Child Benefit Charge — almost certainly yes. Employment income taxed under PAYE alone does not require one. The 'who files' guide in this hub walks the cases.
When is the Self Assessment deadline?
Online returns and payment: 31 January after the tax year ends. Paper: 31 October. Registration for first-timers: 5 October. Payments on account add a second date, 31 July. The deadlines guide covers all of them with the penalties for missing each.
Can RR just do all of this for me?
Yes — that is the service. Records maintained through the year, the return prepared early and reviewed with you, filing and payment dates tracked with advance notice. Book a 20-minute call and we will confirm whether we are a fit.
Need help with self assessment?
Book a call and we will explain the next steps clearly.