I do the books for a company my wife and I set up to support her consultancy activities. In the first year I was able to file accounts and tax returns via gov.uk but in the second year we paid a small dividend and this is not supported by this portal. I have filed the accounts directly via Companies House Web Filing but the HMRC website says I have to use tax software to file the tax returns. This seems ridiculous but since there appears to be no alternative I wonder if anyone can recommend software which is either free or very low-cost. I am loath to pay a disproportionate amount to file what is a very simple return. Thanks.
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As far as I am aware, there is no free software.
TaxCalc have a licence for £100+VAT that will let you do the company and personal tax returns (to declare the dividend).
Or you could register for TaxFiler’s Solo version @ £10pcm + VAT, submit the return then cancel your subscription.
I was proposing that you pretend to be an agent for the day it takes you to use the software.
before signing up it says 'This account is for tax agents who are registered with the HMRC Agents Online Service. You will need an activated HMRC Agent Code in order to file tax returns.' will I be able to sign up taxfiler solo for one mmonth, file tax return without a agent code?
hi for taxfiler, do i need to register as an agent with HMRC? i.e write them a letter requesting an agent code etc?
I think you must have misunderstood the limitations of the free gov software. It would be useless to anybody if it did not allow dividends to be paid, so check again what the limitations are - I think you'll find you can use it in your case.
If for any reason you do need to use paid software, there are some sub-£50 options on the HMRC commercial software list.
Dividends paid are not income of the company. Dividends do not appear on the P&L. If you try again it should work.
...I went back and ticked no then carried on, but when I got to the P&L pro forma there was no line for dividends.
Ah, there's your mistake. Dividends have not been shown on the P&L for about 20 years. They appear on the balance sheet. I'm sure if you persevere you'll find the HMRC software works fine - but I'm a bit worried that your accounts are not correct if you expect dividends to appear on the P&L. Dividends are not an expense. Also, what other standards have changed over the last 20 years that you may not be aware of?
I have successfully used the .gov website on several occasions in the past 12 months for filing of:
1. Accounts and CT returns to HMRC (including dividends)
2 Micro entity accounts to Companies House
The most recent filing was on 30 Jan 2018. I have found the new .gov website to be excellent and a lot better than the previous version (had to download pdf onto your own PC etc). No need to spend money on commercial software.
Hi just reading through the comments; I have a client that has incurred foreign currency transactions and this has blocked them from using the .gov website. They are also a micro entity so don't see the point of purchasing software to do a tax return. Have you perhaps had any experience with submitting a return with foreign currency? Is it possible to just convert all to GBP? Thank you.
Agents are not allowed to use the free software so I have no experience of its limitations, but I don’t really see your issue unless you perhaps have non-trading currency differences. Wouldn’t all the figures already be in GBP once you complete the tax return since you have already completed the accounts?
For the amounts mentioned here for the software -£100 and then looking at the amount of time spent on this website I would have thought it better to pay the fee and use the time to increase sales.
Hello everyone
hope is not a problem to ask here about my problem.
I have to deliver the first company tax return for my new very small business. I was quite sure to use the online service but in the list of companies that cannot use the service I have read : you need to claim a repayment of a loan to a participator (for example, a director’s loan) more than 9 months after the end of the accounting period.
I have lend some personal money as director to my company and was taking them back when available. I am not sure I will get back money in 9 months after end of the accounting period so because that do I have to pay for a software? Seems a little stupid. Thanks in advance for help