“There’s no time like the present” and “the early bird catches the worm” are both terms that we are all familiar with. But when it comes to the completion of the annual tax return, we have a number of clients who, for whatever reason, leave it until the last minute!

Filing your return early saves the client (and us!) less stress. There are some benefits from filing early these include:

• You will know your liability many months in advance and be able to plan, and possibly save, accordingly.
• If filed before 31 July we can establish if the second “payment on the account” needs revision.
• If a refund is due, you will be able to benefit from it earlier (better in your bank account than HMRC’s!)
• It reduces the risk of not getting all the information together on time and therefore runs the risk of receiving a late filing penalty.

Finally, there is a common misconception that filing early runs the risk of an enquiry. This we can say, having previously worked for HMRC, is completely untrue.