This is an incredibly common question, but one which is perfectly understandable. After all, if you’ve already paid tax on your wages, why do you need to mention them on your tax return?
Well, to answer the first question, yes, you do need to include your salary information on your Self Assessment tax return, but this doesn’t mean that you’ll need to pay tax on that money again.
Why do I need to include my wages on my tax return?
The amount of tax that you pay depends on how much you earn during a tax year, so you’ll need to report all your income to make sure that you pay tax correctly.
If you need to complete a Self Assessment tax return, you’ll need to show your PAYE income, not just the additional self-employed earnings which prompted you to register for Self Assessment in the first place.
This is because your Self Assessment must include all your taxable income and gains in total.
Do I actually need to submit a Self Assessment?
You probably will need to submit a Self Assessment if you’re employed and paid through the PAYE system if you also:
- Have extra sources of income such as from self-employment or property
- Receive taxable benefits
- Earn over £50,000 and receive Child Benefit
- Earn more than £100,000
Where do I include PAYE income on my Self Assessment form?
If you have earned income from employment that has been taxed at source through PAYE, this should be recorded in the ‘Employment’ section of your Self Assessment tax return form.
If you complete your Self Assessment online then this is really straightforward. You’ll be asked a series of questions to make sure you see the correct sections that are relevant to your circumstances.
Anyone who uses a paper-based form to submit their Self Assessment form will need to complete a supplementary SA102 form for each employment they need to include. You’ll need to provide:
- Your employer’s name and PAYE reference number
- Pre-tax employment income
- The amount of tax you have already paid on your employment earnings
- Your employment expenses or benefits, if applicable
Paying Self Assessment tax through PAYE
If you’re employed and being paid through PAYE and you owe less than £3,000 in self-employed tax following your Self Assessment submission, you have the option to pay your tax bill via your tax code.
The benefit of this is that you can spread your tax payments out over the year, rather than paying in one lump sum, by simply bumping up the amount of tax you pay through PAYE each month.
Just be aware that your employer will see the change to your tax code, so they might ask questions! Important to keep that in mind if they don’t know about your side-hustle.
Find more business tips and expert advice on our website, or check out our go-to guide to finding the right accountant for you.
