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January 30th, 2007

I must do my sums

Update (31st January, 1am): Well, the good news is that I think my first ever tax return has been entirely filled in. I’m sure I’m being very generous to the tax man, but such is the price of not being good with these things. The bad news is that the tax website has entirely stopped working, so I’m unable to be sure that they got it (I didn’t see a ‘we’ve got your tax return’ screen, though I did get an encouraging e-mail). I’m also unable to pay my tax, so at this moment the £100 fine is still coming my way. Anyway, giving up and going to bed.

Update (31st January, 9am): All done and paid. Hurrah!

sums cartoon

12 Comments »



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This is a single post on the Cartoon Blog by Dave posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 8:21 am. Click here to read all of the latest posts. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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12 Responses to “I must do my sums”


  1. Mary says:

    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?
    Are you there yet?

    Best of luck!

    January 30th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
  2. Raspberry Rabbit says:

    My guess Dave is that you are doing it online and therefore the ‘submit’ button only needs to be pushed at 11:59 tomorrow night – just a nanosecond after the power cut.

    RR

    January 30th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
  3. Clare says:

    Handed mine in this afternoon. No receipt which is scary but it was the same last year and they seemed to get it.
    Transferred the payment direct (but wonder if they’ll still charge me because it won’t reach their account for a couple of days).
    A weight is off my mind now. My living room (aka study) is however covered with papers on every surface, particularly the floor.

    January 30th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
  4. Clare says:

    Oh and I need the computer to be on in order that I can do my sums!

    January 30th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
  5. nessa says:

    i will not gloat
    i will not gloat
    i will not gloat
    i will not gloat
    i will not gloat
    i will not gloat

    ;o)

    you’ll be fine! i’m sure. (i mean, if i was!)

    January 30th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
  6. John says:

    They tend to be lenient about the fine if their systems are overloaded (which they always are at this time of year). Just keep ringing the phone line until you get through, and have your card to hand. Be aware that they don’t take credit cards, just the debit cards.

    One thing I found as a self-employed person was that it was very worthwhile finding a friendly accountant and having them do my taxes. It cost under £250 per year, but saved a *lot* of pain. If you keep your records up to date through the year (which can mean as little as having a spreadsheet recording each invoice and when it was paid, and each expense) then the accountant will have a pretty easy job. And they’ll think of lots of things you can claim as business expenses that you might not have thought of (like a proportion of your heating bill if you work from home).

    Hope it all goes smoothly!

    pax et bonum

    January 31st, 2007 at 8:26 am
  7. Dave says:

    Thanks everyone for your encouragement.

    John – I suppose I should do that really. Though £250 is an immense amount of money to an internet cartoonist.

    I have found the stressful bit was gathering all of my records together which unfortunately only I could do. I have systems for doing things but it is only when your first tax return is due that you discover whether your system is fundamentally flawed or not. There seems to be no way to learn these things except by bitter experience no matter how many courses you go on.

    January 31st, 2007 at 9:04 am
  8. John says:

    It really depends whether you’re “full time self-employed”, I guess. If the self-employment earnings are relatively small, it’s not worth it, but if it’s your main income then it is (IMO), given the amount of my time it saved me!

    There’s nothing like doing your first tax return to learn exactly what you need!

    pax et bonum

    January 31st, 2007 at 9:41 am
  9. Johann says:

    Dave has done his sums x 10 !!

    Well done, Dave x 10 !!

    Sadly, or happily as you have learnt something, all the best things seem to be learned through bitter experience.

    January 31st, 2007 at 9:09 pm
  10. Clare says:

    Dave, when I registered as self-employed my local tax office offered a half-day course/training session that was incredibly useful. Particularly with regard to explaining allowable deductions (I discovered for example I can claim my cycling!). If you haven’t done this (and if they still offer them) I can highly recommend it.

    February 1st, 2007 at 10:19 am
  11. Dave says:

    Thanks again everyone.

    Clare – I went on that course. But it was so long ago that I forgot everything I learnt.

    Next year I will be claiming cycling and heating. I will be making a note of my distances and the setting on the thermostat.

    February 1st, 2007 at 10:33 am
  12. Philip of Samaria says:

    I just did 95% of my tax return 06/07….

    April 10th, 2007 at 5:05 pm