What do you do?
Im sure this isnt too uncommon, you sign up a new client who said he needed his self assessment completing, started working on it only to discover he doesnt need to submit one.
Do you charge a fee for this?
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You just submit it and charge the full fee. Once they are registered they have to submit.
Not necessarily surely. You could contact the agent dedicated line, explain the circumstances and, more than likely, the case could be removed from self-assessment.
When you say "doesn't need to submit one" do you mean "isn't registered and isn't required to be registered" or do you mean "shouldn't have been registered".
In the first instance I charge my time spent, in the second I charge for the return that is rightly due, then take them out of SA.
In either event, I explain why they don't need a return and tell them at what point they do need one and suggest they come back and see me then, at least they're getting something for their money then.
Do you mean doesn't need to submit a return due to specific circumstances of the year in question - or is unlikely to need to for the foreseeable future?
Its an "it depends" scenario.
If it was someone local, I wouldn't charge if I had taken an hour or so over it. Eg if it eg just a higher rate tax payer, or a child benefit case, as I wouldn't want them bad mouthing me locally.
If on the other hand it was a big job (eg sole trader of size) and it took me half a day to work out they didn't need return, I would, but less than the full quote, and sell it on the "well its £150 (say) less than my quote, and I stopped work when it was clear you didn't need a return, and look no tax either, isn't this great, look at the money I have saved you...."
For me, much depends on the circumstances which, from what I can see here, you don't appear to have expanded upon?
Presumably he registered himself for self-assessment then, provided you with instructions?
What did you intend the fee to be and, what ratio of the work, do you think you'd completed?
I once spent 3 hours trying to gather info and research to see if someone was resident or not to determine whether they needed to do a return. Bill it!