It has been a contentious issue for many years that HMRC have insisted that all company directors file a tax return. Arguably this was inconsistent with tax law and it has been successfully challenged in recent tribunal cases.
Do you need to send a tax return as a company director?
The criteria for company directors are the same as for any employed individual. If your only income is already taxed at source, such as PAYE, or you only have small amounts of savings interest or dividends below £2,500, you may not need to file a return.
You can quickly check whether you need to file a self assessment tax return using the updated HMRC self assesssment tool. However, beware the first question1 It asks "did you work for yourself…?". Always reply "yes" if you are a director even if you are not the majority shareholder. The remaining questions are more straightforward and will give you a decision on whether you need to file a tax return.
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Has HMRC issued you with a notice to send a tax return?
If you think that you don’t need to submit a return, you must contact HMRC to ask them to withdraw the notice. Otherwise, you will be required to submit a self assessment tax return and you will incur penalties if you do not - even if you don't owe any additional tax.
Contact HMRC online if you already have a personal tax gateway account. Alternatively contact them by phone on 0300 200 3310 or by post: Self Assessment, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS. Make sure you have your NI number and Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) details to hand.
How to file a self assessment tax return
You can register for self assessment online (which may take up to 10 days to set up an account before you can begin to fill in your return). The income tax self assessment process is then the same as for any other individual.
If you are too close to the filing deadline of 31 January and you do not have an online account, your only option may be to use a Tax Agent if you want to avoid a late filing penalty.
