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Tax Returns - Only Four More Days to Survive

28th Jan 2015
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At long last, the end should be in sight for those whose mission is to help clients complete self-assessment tax returns.

Logic suggests that those of us who file personal tax returns for a living should by today, 28 January, be enjoying the sunshine on a Mediterranean cruise or a vertiginous ski slope.

After all, there are almost exactly 300 days between 6 April and 31st of January. That means that only 1% of the allotted time for completing a tax return by the deadline remains.

Please don’t start writing hate mail pointing out that a significant proportion of the tax returns which you need to complete are still outstanding before considering the reasons.

Everyone understands that for almost all that much-needed the holiday will have to wait for a week or two, but it might be time to reflect on who is to blame.

In most cases, it will be clients who have failed to provide information by the original deadline, the one a month later and the most recent occasion a couple of weeks ago on which you begged for the outstanding paperwork.

Unless this columnist is missing something, as long as enough tax has been paid, the initial penalty for failing to complete a tax return by 31st January is a mere £100.

In many cases, this is a tiny fraction of 1% of the income of those involved and not that great a proportion of your fee. As a result, many of us will be baffled as to why anyone should be particularly fussed about hitting a deadline with such a negligible downside.

It can certainly be argued that the majority of accountants are very weak. Rather than turning their backs on clients after, say 15th January, explaining that having missed the initial deadline by three months, it is too late to get a tax return done in time.

This line would continue with an inevitable chuckle in the voice as you announce that the only consequence is a £100 penalty.

The alternative should be terrifying. The horror of completing vast numbers of tax returns in a two-week period should not be forgotten. The likelihood is that far more mistakes will drift in as you and your colleagues work seven day weeks than would be the case at any other time. This not only threatens your relationship with your clients but means that they could sue you if they end up paying more tax than should be the case.

One other route that should be approached with caution is for the accountant to pay the £100, if they believe that they may have been responsible for delays.

None of us likes to admit to errors and it could give dilatory clients the green light to leave things till the last minute every year. On the other hand, this approach may maintain your sanity not to mention retaining the services and goodwill of exhausted members of staff.

Apparently, depression day i.e. the day when the country collectively feels at its lowest was nine days ago. It won't seem like it if you are still working 15 hour days knowing that even then, by the end of the week there will be some returns that have not been filed on time.

I urge every reader in this predicament to take a deep breath, complete one or two returns that really matter and then down tools.

The worst-case scenario is that all of those whose returns are left behind will either learn to behave or plague one of your rivals next year. Either outcome would be far better than this torture.

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By JSK
28th Jan 2015 08:13

£100

 I would not say £100 is an insignificant amount of money.

Work can be done well before 31 Jan with regular nagging for info. There is no need for Jan stress.

I think there is a certain amount of glory in saying you are rushed off your feet in Jan. Some probably thrive on it.

 

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Replying to joanna tutus:
By The 5-50 Coach
30th Jan 2015 10:58

That's an interesting point JSK, There are many people that thrive in the glory of being rushed off their feet, both in and out of the profession. Many people thrive when there is a crisis and some create their own (subconsciously or consciously). But everybody in the accounting profession knows when January will occur, albeit really hard to get all clients behaving properly.

 

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