Who must send a tax return

You must send a tax return if, in the last tax year (6 April to 5 April), any of the following applied:

  • you were self-employed as a ‘sole trader’ and earned more than £1,000 (before taking off anything you can claim tax relief on)
  • you were a partner in a business partnership
  • you earned £100,000 or more

You may also need to send a tax return if you have any untaxed income, such as:

Other reasons for sending a return

You can choose to fill in a tax return to:

  • claim some Income Tax reliefs
  • prove you’re self-employed, for example to claim Tax-Free Childcare or Maternity Allowance

If you get Child Benefit

If your income (or your partner’s, if you have one) was over £50,000, you may need to send a return and pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

If you no longer need to send a tax return

You must tell HMRC if you believe you no longer need to send a tax return.

If HMRC agrees, they’ll send a letter confirming you do not need to file a return.

You may have to pay a penalty if HMRC do not agree before the Self Assessment deadline of 31 January.

You might no longer need to send a return because, for example:

  • you’re retired
  • you’re no longer self-employed
  • your income is below the threshold

You can tell HMRC:

You’ll need to provide your National Insurance number and your UTR number.