Askews Accountants encourage businesses to start thinking about the end of tax year

With the end of the tax year approaching on April 5, Coventry based Askews Accountants are reminding businesses that this event means more than simply flicking over their financial calendars.

There are a number of important key tasks that all UK businesses must complete in the period around the end of the tax year and failure to do so could impose legal fines and injunctions on a business by HMRC.

There is no better time than now to think about filing all your accounts in preparation for the new tax year as leaving everything until the last minute can be a stressful and panicky experience. In fact, as soon as your final wage bill is submitted for March, you can begin filling in the paperwork for your end of year accounts. The key end of year requirement for most employers is to file the Employer Annual Return (form P45 and forms P14.) These days, almost all employers are required to complete this return online and with a seven day registration process required for all new online submissions, time really is of the essence.

Another key task for businesses to complete before the end of the current tax year is to set up new payroll records for all employees. In most cases this will be a form P11 or equivalent. Businesses are advised to have payroll records in electronic form in order to make completing your Employer Annual Return simpler.

Furthermore, HMRC demand that all outstanding PAYE tax and Class One National Insurance contributions reach local HMRC Accounts Offices by post before April 19 in order to be cleared by the last working day before April 22 (due to the bank holiday.) If these deadlines are not met, a business can be seriously penalised by HMRC and risks facing large penalties, particularly if the Employer Annual Return is late.

Neil Askew, Owner of Coventry’s Askews Accountants explained: “A lot of businesses think that the end of a tax year is just a chance to start afresh financially but there is a lot of work to be done before, during and after the April 5 deadline. Very few businesses consider the new tax year this early on in the year but really you should be thinking about it after you finalise your March wage bill. The Employer Annual Return must be filed online and with an already lengthy registration time, the extensive form can take a while to complete. Leaving such accounting practices to the last minute can often make for a worrying time spent frantically trying to reach the deadline whereas completing everything now will ensure that everything is sent off to HMRC well within the time constraints”

Neil Askew on 024 7623 1000 or enquiries@askews.co

Denise Taylor, Bridge PR on tel: 024 76520 025, email: denise@bridgepr.co.uk

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