Just a third of adults in the UK are confident with self-assessment
Standard Life has recently released findings of research which has found that just 35% of UK adults are not confident completing the self-assessment alone.
Standard Life is a brand that has been trusted to look after people's life savings and retirement needs for nearly 200 years.
The research they carried out concluded that just three in ten UK adults admit they do not feel confident they could complete the form correctly.
A further 18% said they felt neither confident nor unconfident while 17% were not sure – which puts the overall total of those who couldn’t say they were confident at being 70%.
One of the areas highlighted by the company, revealed a widespread lack of awareness around self-assessment timings.
More than half the respondents said they didn’t know when the deadline for filing was.
In addition, among those who are currently, or soon will be, in the higher income tax bracket, 41% are unaware that they might need to fill in a self-assessment tax return to claim all their pension tax relief.
Dean Butler, Managing Director for Retail Direct at Standard Life, said:
“The deadline for filing self-assessment tax returns is always January 31, with returns needing to be submitted online by midnight of that date.
“Tax returns can be tempting to put off, but it's important to understand what's required and file it on time to avoid any penalties which can be costly.
“Tackling the forms in advance, rather than leaving it to the last minute, will give you the time to gather the information needed and make the submission as stress-free as possible.”
11,581,962 returns were received by 31 January this year however an estimated 1.1 million customers still missed the deadline.
If you require help submitting your self-assessment so that you know it is being submitted correctly and on time, it could save you money, time, and a lot of hassle.
Please feel free to contact us here at The Hollies Bookkeeping on 01743 790086 or email info@holliesbookkeeping.co.uk
Link to Standard Life.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay