How to file a self-assessment tax return
Millions of people in the UK have to file a tax return to HMRC every year. Our step-by-step guide explains all the need-to-knows.
Millions of Brits have to file a tax return every year and many sole traders and landlords may even need to report their earnings to HMRC more regularly through Making Tax Digital.
The final self-assessment tax return deadline for the 2025/26 financial year will be 31 October 2026 if you’re completing a paper return or 31 January 2027 for those filing online.
An automatic £100 fine is issued if you fail to meet the 31 January deadline.
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Some Brits who do not owe the taxman any money will also need to fill out a tax return – if you earn over £1,000 from something other than PAYE work, you must fill out a tax return even if it does not breach the £12,570 personal allowance.
Each tax return looks at the previous financial year, so the return you submit this cycle should cover the 2025/26 tax year only.
Additionally, new Making Tax Digital rules were introduced in April 2026, which require sole traders and buy-to-let landlords who earn more than £50,000 per year to file quarterly returns. The aim is to make it easier for taxpayers to predict what their tax bill will actually be by the self-assessment deadline.
How to file a self-assessment tax return: step-by-step guide
Filing a tax return can feel like a daunting task, but breaking it down into different stages helps. These are the key steps you need to take.
1. Register with HMRC
If you haven’t filed a tax return before, the first thing you need to do is register with HMRC. You also need to do this if you registered with HMRC in previous years, but didn’t complete a tax return for the previous financial year.
The deadline to register is always earlier than the final filing deadline. For the 2025/26 financial year, the registration deadline is 5 October 2026.
If you register late there may be a penalty, but experts say this is often waived by HMRC as long as you file and pay any tax owed on time.
Once you have registered, you will receive your Unique Taxpayer Reference number. This can take up to 10 working days to receive by post, but you can usually see it sooner through the HMRC app or via your online HMRC account.
If you completed a tax return last year but don’t believe you need to do one the following year, you need to let HMRC know as soon as possible so it can review your request.
If you complete your registration after the deadline, HMRC will send you a letter or email with a different deadline to file your tax return by – usually three months from the date on the letter or email.
2. Gather relevant documents
The tax return form asks for some personal information such as your name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number, 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference number, and your employer reference code (if you have one).
You should also collect any relevant documents and have them to hand when filling out the form. These could include your P60 end-of-year tax statement, your P45 if you have left a place of work, payslips, bank statements, student loan statements, and any investment account statements.
HMRC has a guide on the types of records you should keep, but the exact requirements will depend on your circumstances and why you are filing a tax return in the first place. For example:
- Those who run a business or work for themselves will need records of any sales, business receipts, purchases, expenses and so on.
- Those who are paying tax on savings interest will need bank statements from their savings account, or alternatively an annual certificate of interest.
- Those who are claiming deductions like gift aid should hang onto any records of charitable donations.
- Those who are claiming higher or additional-rate tax relief on pension contributions made in a ‘relief at source’ scheme like a SIPP should keep hold of any pension statements.
These are just a few examples, but it is generally a good idea to keep organised records of any financial documents you receive throughout the year. The taxman expects you to keep records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year in question.
You shouldn’t send any receipts, accounts or paperwork to HMRC unless the taxman explicitly asks for them, but you will need the records to hand to help you fill out the relevant sections of the form.
3. Complete the form
The tax return form is divided into several sections which ask you to detail:
- Personal information and contact details
- Any income you received (e.g. through interest, dividends or your pension)
- Any tax relief for which you are eligible (e.g. pension tax relief and gift aid)
- Student loan repayments
- Any money you owe as a result of the high income Child Benefit charge
- Any marriage allowance you would like to transfer to your spouse or civil partner
Depending on your circumstances, you may need to complete some separate supplementary pages. For instance, you may need to do this if you are self-employed, receive foreign income or income from a UK property you rent out, or if you have realised capital gains.
The simplest way to file a tax return is to do it online, but the PDF version of the paper form can be found on the government website. This gives a good sense of the sort of information you will need to provide.
Bear in mind that the deadline to file a paper tax return is months earlier than the final deadline – the paper deadline is 31 October rather than 31 January for online returns. Paper filers can still wait to pay the bill in January as long as they filed in the previous October.
4. File your completed tax return form
Once you have completed the form, file your tax return. HMRC will then calculate how much tax you owe.
If you file online, you can see it in your online account. If you do a paper return, HMRC will send your calculation by post.
5. Pay your tax bill
Once you have submitted your tax return, make sure you pay your tax bill by the deadline. You can pay online via the government website, or through the HMRC app.
HMRC says paying through the app takes “less than a minute with immediate confirmation of payment”.
Late filers are automatically charged an initial £100 penalty for missing the deadline by even one day. After three months of not paying, you get hit with additional daily penalties of £10, up to a maximum of £900, plus the initial £100 penalty.
After six months, a further penalty applies – either 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater. The same penalty (5% or £300) applies again once you are 12 months late.
There are also penalties for paying your bill late, even if you filed on time. These include 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, six months and 12 months.
Interest is also charged at base rate plus 4% – meaning you’ll pay 7.75% interest on any overdue tax this year.
If you are struggling to pay your tax bill, you might be able to agree a payment plan with HMRC, as long as you owe £30,000 or less.
When thinking ahead to next year, consider filing your tax return early. One of the benefits is that this allows you to set up a budget payment plan to make weekly or monthly direct debit payments towards your bill.
How to get help with filing your self-assessment tax return
HMRC says the quickest way to get help when filing your tax return is to use its online tools or chat with its digital assistant. As this is a chatbot, it should be able to help with standard queries but may struggle with more complex requests.
If the digital assistant is unable to help, you can ask to speak to a HMRC adviser through the online portal if one is available.
Alternatively, if you are based in the UK, you can call HMRC’s helpline on 0300 200 3310.
If you are located outside the UK, call +44 161 931 9070 instead. The opening times are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
If your tax affairs are complex, it could be worth using an accountant. Bear in mind that you may need to give them some notice, so it is worth doing this well ahead of the deadline each year.
Who needs to file a self-assessment tax return?
Not everyone needs to file a tax return, but it is important to familiarise yourself with the criteria. A common reason for falling foul of the taxman is simply not knowing that tax was due.
If your only source of income is your salary and you are not self-employed, then you probably don’t need to do anything. Income tax will be deducted from your salary before you receive it through a process called ‘pay as you earn’ (PAYE).
Most pensioners won’t need to file a tax return either, if their only source of income is their state and private pensions.
The state pension is currently lower than the personal allowance. If private pension income tips you over the £12,570 threshold, income tax will usually be deducted through PAYE.
You may also need to file a tax return even if you don’t owe any tax. You must file a tax return if your non-PAYE earnings were greater than £1,000 in a given tax year, even if you do not believe you need to pay any tax on it.
Where it gets more complex is if you have other sources of wealth and income.
For example, if you earn income from a second home, a business, savings and investments held outside of an ISA, or another source, then it is likely that you will need to file a tax return. The same is true if you are self-employed. We take a closer look at the rules.
Business owners and the self-employed
If you run your own business or work for yourself, you will need to file a tax return. This becomes a requirement once you earn more than £1,000 (before taking off anything you can claim tax relief on). You will also need to complete a tax return if you are a partner in a business.
Tax on savings held outside an ISA
Most people can earn a certain amount of interest on their savings without having to pay any tax at all. However, with interest rates having risen to higher levels in recent years, you might be surprised at how quickly you can exceed this threshold.
A basic-rate taxpayer with a 5% savings account could become liable for a tax bill once their savings pot hits £20,000, if the money is held outside of an ISA. Any savings held within an ISA are tax-free, regardless of the amount of interest you earn.
Rules for savings held outside an ISA:
Rules for savings held outside an ISA
- If you are a basic-rate taxpayer, then you are entitled to earn up to £1,000 in tax-free interest. This is called the personal savings allowance. This falls to £500 for higher-rate taxpayers, while additional-rate taxpayers aren’t entitled to any personal savings allowance at all.
- You can also use your personal allowance (£12,570) to earn interest tax-free, if you haven’t already used it up on your wages, pension, or other income.
- There is an additional allowance of up to £5,000 if you are a low earner, also known as the starting rate for savings. You will only be entitled to the full amount if you earn less than £12,570, but will still qualify for some of it up to £17,570.
If you're self-employed and complete a self-assessment tax return, you should report interest earned on savings there.
If you're employed or get income from a pension, HMRC should change your tax code so you automatically pay the tax. If you're not employed, don't get a pension and don't complete a tax return, your bank or building society will tell HMRC how much interest you received at the end of the year. The taxman will then tell you if you need to pay tax and how to do so.
Tax on investments
Most investments are subject to income and capital gains tax if they are held outside an ISA. The capital gains and dividend allowances are currently £3,000 and £500 per year. Capital gains tax is paid on investments once they have been sold.
You are able to deduct any losses to help lower your capital gains tax bill. You do not have to report losses straight away, and can claim them up to four years after the end of the tax year when you disposed of the asset.
HMRC has developed an online calculator to help taxpayers report correctly.
Tax on rental income
If you own a property that you rent out, you will probably need to pay tax on any rental income. The rules vary depending on whether you own the property personally, or run a property business.
The following rules apply if you own the property personally:
- You can claim the first £1,000 of rental income tax-free, known as the property allowance. However, if you claim this, you cannot claim a deduction for your expenses – more on that below.
- If you earn between £1,000 and £2,500 a year, you need to contact HMRC.
- If you earn more than £2,500 after allowable expenses, or more than £10,000 before allowable expenses, you need to complete a tax return. Allowable expenses include things like letting agents’ fees, maintenance and repair costs, ground rent, and gardening fees.
- Rental income is taxed at the same rate you pay on other forms of income, such as your salary. This means you can use your personal allowance to cover some of it, if you haven’t already exhausted it elsewhere (e.g. through earnings from your workplace).
If you have multiple properties and run them as a buy-to-let company, there are different rules. The rental income should be counted in the same way as any other business income. Further information can be found on the government website.
Parents who pay the high income Child Benefit charge
If you receive Child Benefit but aren’t eligible for the full amount, then you need to return the excess.
The threshold for means testing Child Benefit payments is currently £60,000. If you or your partner’s salary exceeds this amount (individually, not jointly), you will have to pay back 1% for every £200 of income you earn over the threshold.
You no longer qualify for any Child Benefit once individual income crosses £80,000.
The government’s Child Benefit calculator can help you understand how much you need to repay, if any.
The good news is that the system has changed, allowing families to opt into paying the high income Child Benefit charge through their PAYE tax code rather than a tax return, if they prefer. This will allow some families to avoid filing a tax return.
Those making £1,000 through side hustles like eBay or Vinted
If you make a bit of money by selling things on sites like eBay, Etsy or Vinted, you may need to declare this income – but the side hustle tax rules are complex:
- Firstly, you only need to declare the income if you make more than £1,000 through the side hustle in the tax year.
- Secondly, if you are selling personal items for less money than you originally paid, you do not need to declare the income – even if the annual total exceeds £1,000. Essentially, this means income tax will only be due if you are deemed to be trading.
- When it comes to personal items, the only exception is if you sell an item for more than £6,000 and make a profit. At this point, you probably won’t have to pay income tax but capital gains tax could be due. Further information is provided on the government website.
Those whose activities count as trading should be careful to stick to the rules.
Alastair Douglas, chief executive at fintech company TotallyMoney, said: “While you might not think the taxman will catch up with you, these platforms are required to pass your information on if you’ve sold more than 30 items or earned more than £1,700.”
When filing your tax return, remember that you can list some expenses to help reduce the size of your bill. This includes things like the postage and envelopes you paid for when sending the products to the buyer. Remember to hold onto any evidence in case you need to prove these expenses.
Making Tax Digital
Thousands of sole traders and landlords now have to report their earnings digitally on a quarterly basis under HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme.
The scheme currently affects sole traders or landlords with earnings or rental income over £50,000 a year.
Earnings are reported through MTD software every three months. The first deadline was August 2026.
There are no penalties for late filing in the first year to give people time to get used to the system.
The earnings threshold is falling to £30,000 in April 2027, so more people will be eligible.
Date |
Event |
7 November 2026 |
Deadline to send your second quarterly update |
31 January 2027 |
Deadline to submit a Self Assessment tax return the usual way for 2025 to 2026 |
7 February 2027 |
Deadline to send your third quarterly update |
7 May 2027 |
Deadline to send your fourth quarterly update |
7 August 2027 |
Deadline to send your first quarterly update for 2027 to 2028 |
7 November 2027 |
Deadline to send your second quarterly update |
31 January 2028 |
Deadline to submit your tax return straight from MTD for Income Tax software for 2026 to 2027 |
7 February 2028 |
Deadline to send your third quarterly update |
7 May 2028 |
Deadline to send your fourth quarterly update |
Other untaxed income
You may also need to complete a tax return if you receive any other untaxed income, such as tips and commission or foreign income. If you are still not sure whether you need to complete a tax return, you can use HMRC’s online tool to help.
Does the taxman owe you money?
Sometimes, it is in your best interest to file a tax return, even if you don’t owe HMRC money. For example, if you are a higher or additional-rate taxpayer making contributions to a pension scheme, HMRC could actually owe you money in the form of pension tax relief.
All savers get the 20% basic-rate tax back automatically. However, if you are a higher or additional-rate taxpayer, you may need to claim the rest back yourself, depending on the type of pension scheme you are in:
- If you are in a ‘net pay’ pension scheme where pension contributions are made before you are taxed, you will automatically receive any tax relief you are owed without having to claim it.
- However, if you are in a ‘relief at source’ pension scheme (where contributions are made after tax is deducted), you may need to take action. Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) usually fall into this category.
Likewise, if you have started drawing from your pension pot and HMRC isn’t applying the correct tax code on your pension income (this is very common), then you can complete a tax return to claim a refund. There are other ways of doing this too – we share further details in our guide on pension tax refunds.
What are ‘payments on account’?
Some people have to pay through a system known as ‘payments on account’. This applies to you if the amount of tax you owed last year was £1,000 or more, or if you didn’t pay at least 80% through your tax code.
Through this system, you pay your tax bill in advance in two instalments. The instalments you pay are just estimates, based on how much tax you paid in the previous year.
If you fall under this system, your tax bill should theoretically be paid already. For example, in the 2024/25 tax year the first instalment would have been paid by 31 January 2025, and the second by 31 July 2026.
As these figures are just estimates, it is possible that there will still be a balance for you to pay once you have submitted your tax return form. Alternatively, HMRC may owe you money.
If you have underpaid, you will need to make a ‘balancing payment’ – the deadline for this is the same as the self-assessment deadline. If you have overpaid, you will be able to claim a tax refund through the government website.
Watch out for self-assessment tax return scams
Completing self-assessment can be stressful at the best of times, let alone when you are scrambling to avoid additional late filing fines.
Scammers are exploiting this stress by sending out fraudulent messages and phone calls that pretend to be from HMRC.
The scams work by tricking someone into thinking they are being contacted by HMRC because of an issue with self-assessment. They are then instructed to hand over their personal information, or even cash, under false pretenses.
The personal information can then be used by the scammers to inflict further financial harm on the victim.
A MoneyWeek journalist recently received a scam call that pretended to be HMRC and alleged they would use “lethal force” unless personal details were provided.
If you receive such a call you should not provide any personal details whatsoever – ideally you should hang up immediately.
Similarly, if you receive such an email, you should never click on any of the links included or provide any of your details.
HMRC will never ask for personal or financial information via text message or email, or leave messages threatening legal action or arrest.
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Marc Shoffman is an award-winning freelance journalist specialising in business, personal finance and property. His work has appeared in print and online publications ranging from FT Business to The Times, Mail on Sunday and the i newspaper. He also co-presents the In For A Penny financial planning podcast.
- Daniel Hilton Writer