SE71410 - Assessments, appeals and other procedures

Self Assessments

Most assessments made for 1996/97 onwards will be self assessments taking into account all Schedule E income and any tax deducted through PAYE.

Requirement to Self Assess

The Inland Revenue can require any taxpayer to self assess. Directors and those employees liable to tax at the higher rate are automatically required to self assess even though the right amount of tax for the year has been deducted through PAYE. And other taxpayers whose income is wholly or mainly within Schedule E may be required to self assess, for example the small number of elderly people whose level of income may affect the amount of their personal allowances.

Bringing taxpayers into Self Assessment to deal with a contentious issue

Taxpayers who do not normally self assess will be brought into self assessment for any tax year where there is a contentious point, for example a Section 198 ICTA 1988 deduction, where the matter will proceed to the Commissioners. Taxpayers present their view of the matter in the self assessment. Then, following a Revenue enquiry into the self assessment, if the matter is not resolved the point can go to the Commissioners and beyond by way of a taxpayer appeal against a Revenue amendment to the self assessment.

Keeping Personal Tax informed

Employment Income Technical will be glad to advise before an enquiry is made into a self assessment, or in the course of an enquiry, where significant Schedule E points of principle or large amounts of tax are at stake, and are prepared to look at draft appeal briefs before any contentious hearings.

Time limit

Section 205(4) provides that a taxpayer subjected to PAYE who has not been asked to self assess by the Revenue can ask to self assess up to 5 years 7 months after the end of the year where PAYE was operated. This cut-off date is set so that a self assessment can be made within the 5 years 10 months time limit for assessments set out in Section 34(1) TMA 1970.