Well HMRC announced that they will be closing the self assessment phone support from the 8 th April to 30 th April 2024. After a big lot of tutting that has now been postponed whilst they look at alternatives.
So what, I hear you say. Well this pushes people into using digital tools and their online services account. Also there is a digital assistant and also the HMRC app. The digital assistant is here;
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/ask-hmrc/chat/online-services-helpdesk .
I had a crack at the assistant, and it went round in circles ending with “contact HMRC”. Err – that is what I was doing.
The biggest problem is the actual registration for being self employed and setting up an online account if you are coming into the UK from overseas, because unless you have a UK passport, UK driving licence or P60, you cannot use the normal online tool as HMRC cannot verify you. They say on the website you can use other things, but when it comes to the final verification process, it is still 2 of those things you need.
You have two choices:
Do it now.
Try to get registered by phone before the 5th April as they only work Monday to Friday . Be prepared for a long wait and be cut off several times, and make sure you make as many notes as possible re
times & date you called and what happened
Manual registration
In a digital age, this is crazy. But, click on this link and you can start the process. https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/print-and-post/form/Test/1.0/SA1/sa1.xdp
Complete the form, print, sign and post to HMRC. It is supposed to take about 4 weeks to get the unique tax reference number which will allow you to do a self assessment tax return. You only get a
part woo hoo here, because you won’t have an online account to do the tax return. You need to request to get a paper return, and know what sections to ask for because HMRC are now not
sending out paper returns.
Here is how you can request a form: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/self-assessment-forms-ordering . There is a telephone number on the page, but
who knows if that will be answered.
Doing a paper return, it has to be at HMRC by the 31 st October. They will process the return, and send you the calculation n the post so you know how much to pay. Of course, this causes problems if English is not your first language, and have no idea about the UK tax system. You may end up engaging with an accountant to help, but sadly we charge for the service.
If you need extra support/help from HMRC, then that is available if you fit one of the criteria. It may be a case of help filling in forms, ill health preventing you completing forms, dyslexia etc. You can find our more here; https://www.gov.uk/get-help-hmrc-extra-support
