Self assessment tax advice

[EvertonCJ]

I retired from teaching a couple of years ago, but , decided to do a bit of tutoring in my spare time.
I've just filled in my first ever self assessment tax form and was stunned by how much tax I have to pay.
My self assessment earnings are less than £2000 and the tax on this was about £1650 with a further £800 due in the new year.
My only other income is a small pension. Can anybody tell me why it is about 80% of my earnings?
Really appreciate any advice.

 

[roydo]

Unless your small pension isnt that small, I would guess you may have made an error on the forms.

And dont forget your state pension as well, if you are old enough for one. That gets paid gross, but does go towards your nil rate band.

 

[EvertonCJ]

Thanks for replying, Roydo. My pension is certainly in the lower tax bracket and I'm a long way off the state pension. I was expecting a figure of about £500. I will check it again and see if I can spot any mistakes.

 

[Bungle]

@EvertonCJ As @roydo says above mate that looks like an error on what you've completed to me. I'm not an accountant but I do my own self assessment and the tax I pay is less than that on far higher earnings.

You sure you haven't entered one of the figures as a weekly income by mistake rather than a monthly or something daft like that? Definitely go double check everything, they've got a decent live chat if you're stuck, otherwise I've always found them decent on the phone with any questions I've had.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

@EvertonCJ As @roydo says above mate that looks like an error on what you've completed to me. I'm not an accountant but I do my own self assessment and the tax I pay is less than that on far higher earnings.

You sure you haven't entered one of the figures as a weekly income by mistake rather than a monthly or something daft like that? Definitely go double check everything, they've got a decent live chat if you're stuck, otherwise I've always found them decent on the phone with any questions I've had.

Is this a serious post?

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

Is this a serious post?

Even sexual deviants have to keep their books in order.

 

[chrismpw]

Sounds an utterly unreasonable amount from our government, therefore likely true.

I'd contact your local mp, explain your case and ask if you could use THEIR accountant.

 

[Bungle]

Is this a serious post?

The ratio of Helpful/Unhelpful posts from me had reached somewhere in the region of 1 in 36500000 so I'm trying to bring that average down a bit.

 

[Baines' left foot]

Hardly a surprise with this government #%*+~€¥

 

[Bungle]

Even sexual deviants have to keep their books in order.

It pays not to draw attention to myself

 

[tim gabbott]

The ratio of Helpful/Unhelpful posts from me had reached somewhere in the region of 1 in 36500000 so I'm trying to bring that average down a bit.

Make that two. I’ve started to lay them in the ground and it’s working

 

[EvertonCJ]

@EvertonCJ As @roydo says above mate that looks like an error on what you've completed to me. I'm not an accountant but I do my own self assessment and the tax I pay is less than that on far higher earnings.

You sure you haven't entered one of the figures as a weekly income by mistake rather than a monthly or something daft like that? Definitely go double check everything, they've got a decent live chat if you're stuck, otherwise I've always found them decent on the phone with any questions I've had.

Thank you for your reply, Bungle. I feel honoured that you didn't provide a link taking me to animals humping.
I've just gone back to my return and deleted my teacher's pension from the pension section which is optional.
The new tax return is £153 which seems too low. I already do PAYE on my pension so I think they wanted to charge me twice for the pension. I think I'll give them a ring to make sure.

 

[larbert toffee]

I retired from teaching a couple of years ago, but , decided to do a bit of tutoring in my spare time.
I've just filled in my first ever self assessment tax form and was stunned by how much tax I have to pay.
My self assessment earnings are less than £2000 and the tax on this was about £1650 with a further £800 due in the new year.
My only other income is a small pension. Can anybody tell me why it is about 80% of my earnings?
Really appreciate any advice.

Good advice given here already, in my experience of self assessment over the years the people in the department make far more mistakes than you can imagine.
First of all revisit your tax form to see if you have made any mistake with the figures, then phone them up and discuss it with them as you have on here and if you're still not happy ask to speak to their line manager.
The tax department as with most government departments is poorly trained and managed and guilty of some major cock-ups, take it from someone who knows *taps nose.

 

[tommytowne]

Good advice given here already, in my experience of self assessment over the years the people in the department make far more mistakes than you can imagine.
First of all revisit your tax form to see if you have made any mistake with the figures, then phone them up and discuss it with them as you have on here and if you're still not happy ask to speak to their line manager.
The tax department as with most government departments is poorly trained and managed and guilty of some major cock-ups, take it from someone who knows *taps nose.

Every bit of the above.
My tax affairs were an absolute mess once I retired, but having the time to look into my tax via the Government Gateway I was astounded that the HMRC had made so many assumptions. Kind of took control of my affairs and it seemed that once you phoned them and spoke to them they were reasonable to deal with.

 

[larbert toffee]

Every bit of the above.
My tax affairs were an absolute mess once I retired, but having the time to look into my tax via the Government Gateway I was astounded that the HMRC had made so many assumptions. Kind of took control of my affairs and it seemed that once you phoned them and spoke to them they were reasonable to deal with.

This.