Self Assessment is used to collect tax from the self-employed, directors of a limited company or if you are a business partner. This is due for filing on the 31 January 2019.
If you filed your Self Assessment and pay later than the deadline, late payment penalties will apply.
There are also penalties for:
- Failure to notify chargeability to income tax or capital gain tax.
- Errors in a returns and documents if you submit an inaccurate return.
If you are employed and under PAYE, you do not need to file a Self Assessment as your tax is already collected under PAYE. However, if HMRC discovered that the wrong amount of tax has been collected, they may push you into self assessment.
Under file now, check later, HMRC will check your return after you submitted it.
If you meet a tax collector, they are most likely to be part of HMRC Debt Management and Banking or a bailiff.
If you meet a tax inspector, it is highly likely that this visit is due to submission of an employer’s PAYE return or a VAT return. Under Self Assessment, HMRC will open an enquiry into your tax return and a visit may only come later on in the enquiry.
If there are any unannounced visits to your workplace or home, these are generally connected with fraud and are very rare.