9 self-assessment questions answered to do your tax return

To help you file your UK tax return, we’ve pulled together nine of the most popular self-assessment questions we’ve been asked lately.

Q: What can I claim on my self-assessment when working from home?

A: If working full time at home on your business, you can claim £312 (£26 per month) towards utility costs. If you work part time, visit https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/working-from-home

Q: Does money I pay into my business account from my personal account count as income?

A: No. Any personal contributions into the business is considered capital NOT income. Likewise, money taken out is considered drawings NOT expenses.

Q: What is the allowed mileage rate?

A: 45p per mile (up to 10,000 miles a year)

Q: I make contributions towards a personal pension. Is this an allowable expense?

A: No. However, assuming your pension provider gives you basic tax relief (e.g. you pay £100 per month but they register £125 in your pension account) you can then enter the total amount paid in the section – ‘Payments to registered pension schemes (Also known as PPR)’. N.B. If you are a higher rate tax payer, it would be advisable to fill in this section to get additional tax relief.

Q: I am asked if I want to transfer 10% of my personal allowance to my spouse/civil partner. What does this mean and is it useful to do?

A: You can only do this if you are married, and yes it is worthwhile if you’re not using all your personal allowance. It means you would give your partner a small share of your £12,570 taxable allowance – your allowance would decrease to £11,313, and you partner’s would increase to £13,827.

**Q: Do I use the cash basis (money actually received and paid out) to calculate my income and expenses for my self-assessment**?

A: Generally, yes. However, it would be no if you made a loss. Listen to or read Using ‘cash basis’ for your 2024-25 accounts – information for sole traders and partners for information on recent changes.

Q: Where do I put my Child Benefit income?

A: You only need to declare it if your taxable income is over £50,000.

Q: In part of the online self-assessment form it says, ‘Underpaid Tax’ then says £0.00. Is that normal?

A: Yes

Q: Where can I find out more information to help me complete my self-assessment?

A: Beside most of the questions online, you will see a question mark in a circle. If you click on this, a box will pop up and tell you more about what is being asked. You can also find more useful information on HMRC’s website, or in our book The Magical Mix of Money & Tax – a practical guide to managing your accounts, tax and money to bring balance into your life.

By Helen Monaghan

Author of Successful Business Minds, The Magical Mix of Money & Tax and 12 Steps to Improve Your Cashflow.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Monaghan is a Chartered Management Accountant, accredited NLP Practitioner & Finance Coach. Both a psychology graduate and an accountancy graduate, she has authored three business books, which beautifully bring together psychology, finance, and tax to empower the reader about money. Helen is also the founder of HM Finance Coaching Ltd, a company that provides financial education and business mindset coaching to small businesses across the UK, in addition to accountancy services for limited companies in Scotland.