Self Assessment gets treated as an afterthought by a lot of people, something to deal with in a rush every January. I don't work that way. Your personal tax return gets the same care as your company's accounts, prepared early enough that there's time to check it properly and ask any questions before it's filed.
What's included
- Personal tax returns (SA100) for individuals
- Sole trader and partnership returns
- Property and rental income, including for landlords with more than one property
- Director, dividend and employment income, brought together into one return
- Registration with HMRC and agent authorisation, so I can deal with them directly on your behalf
- Preparation that's compliant with Making Tax Digital as the rules roll out
Who needs this
Company directors taking dividends, sole traders, partners in a partnership, landlords with rental income, and anyone with income HMRC doesn't already tax at source. If you're a director of your own limited company, you almost certainly need a personal return alongside your company accounts, they're two separate filings with two separate deadlines, and I handle both.
What good Self Assessment looks like
Done properly, your return is prepared well ahead of the 31 January online filing and payment deadline, checked with you, and submitted with time to spare. Not in the last week of January, when HMRC's systems slow down and there's no room to fix anything that doesn't look right. Done badly, it looks like a return filed the night before the deadline, or after it. Miss the 31 January deadline and HMRC issues an automatic £100 penalty, even if you owe no tax, with further daily penalties after three months and percentage-based penalties on top after six and twelve months if it's still outstanding. Interest also starts accruing on any tax paid late. None of it is dramatic on its own. All of it is avoidable.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is also changing how this works for some clients. From April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 need to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates rather than one annual return, with the threshold dropping to £30,000 the following year. I keep track of who this applies to and get clients ready ahead of their start date, not after it.
How this fits with the Clarity Package
For clients on the Clarity Package, personal and company tax are handled as one coordinated picture rather than two separate jobs that happen to share a client. For everyone else, Self Assessment stands on its own. Either way, the deadline is owned, not chased. That's Accountability, one of the five principles behind how I work (more on my method page).
Want your personal tax return sorted early this year instead of in a rush next January? Book a free discovery call or email daneon@dfaccounting.co.uk.