There are lots of dates to remember when it comes to your tax return and you need to get them right or there could be penalties to pay:

• 6 April – Start of new tax year
• 5 October – Deadline for registering for self-assessment
• 31 October – Paper tax return deadline using the paper form; miss this and you have a second chance online
• 31 January – You need to file your online tax return and pay any tax owing (unless you can pay through PAYE or set up a monthly payment schedule) – plus self-employed people have to make their first payment on account.
• 31 July – Second payment on account due
• 5 April – End of tax year

Miss those deadlines and you could face a fine, starting at £100 for tax returns if you’re a day late, except for reasonable excuses.

HMRC is likely to send you a tax return reminder if, for example, you submitted one last year. You must return it even if you don’t owe any tax.

REMEMBER: don’t rely on HMRC to get in contact with you if you know you owe tax; only you are responsible for declaring it and paying up.

Dont get caught out by the tax man, let filemyselfassessment.co.uk take the worry away. Register here