Do I need to send a tax return?
Answer a few questions and see whether HMRC expects a tax return from you, every reason that applies, and the dates to register, send it and pay.
Your answer
Choose the tax year to see whether you need to send a tax return.
About this calculator
For anyone not sure whether HMRC expects a tax return from them. Most people paid only through a payslip or a pension don't need one. You may if you work for yourself, let out property, get large dividends or savings interest, sell shares or property at a gain, or earn over £60,000 and someone in your home gets Child Benefit.
It lists every reason that applies, with HMRC's line and your figure, then the dates: register by 5 October, paper return by 31 October, online return and payment by 31 January. It doesn't register you or tell HMRC anything.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
We set each figure against the line HMRC publishes. Working for yourself: over £1,000 before costs. Rent: over £10,000 before costs or £2,500 after is a return; over £1,000 means contacting HMRC. Other untaxed income: over £1,000 contact HMRC, over £2,500 a return. Dividends or savings interest over £10,000, gains over the £3,000 tax-free allowance, and the Child Benefit charge not paid through your tax code are each a reason. So is a letter from HMRC.
High pay on its own isn't a reason any more: HMRC dropped that test after 2023/24. Late returns cost £100 straight away, then £10 a day after 3 months, then 5% of the tax or £300 at 6 and 12 months.
Worked example
Yes, you must send a tax return for the 2025/26 tax year: online by 31 January 2027.
2025/26 tax year · not yet registered
| Money from working for yourself, before costs: over the £1,000 line | £5,000 |
|---|---|
| High pay taxed through your payslip: not a reason on its own (that test ended after 2023/24) | No |
| Reasons you must send a return | 1 |
| Send your return online by | 31 January 2027 |
Worked out from HMRC's published reasons for a Self Assessment return for the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), and the dates and penalties in the Taxes Management Act 1970 and Finance Act 2009. For rent between £1,000 and the lines for a return, we test the rent before costs, as HMRC's allowances page does: that's our reading, not a rule HMRC states.
Questions people ask
I earn over £150,000 through my payslip. Do I need a return?
Not for that reason alone, from 2024/25 on. HMRC removed the high income test. You still need one if any other reason applies, like the Child Benefit charge, rent or untaxed income.
What if I've missed the 5 October date to register?
Register now. The penalty for telling HMRC late is worked out on the tax still unpaid on 31 January, so you usually won't get one if you send the return and pay everything by then.
Is being a company director a reason on its own?
No. What counts is your income: dividends over the lines, rent, a side business or any other reason here.
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