Getting started

We recommend you use our EasyStep, as this guides you through the process in a way that requires no tax or computer expertise. TaxCalc places the information you enter into the correct boxes and the correct forms, although you should check your return carefully before sending it in. The responsibility for getting the right information into the right places is yours alone.

To get the best from TaxCalc follow these steps:

Step 1

If you haven't used TaxCalc before you should take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with the program and read the User Guide - available as a printed booklet, an Adobe Acrobat PDF file on the TaxCalc CD or from the TaxCalc website.

Step 2

Explore the Help files and print out any relevant topics. Help is available by pressing the <F1> key, in the Help panel at the bottom of the screen or by clicking on the “More Help” button that is there.

Step 3

Read and print out the Document checklist and collect together all the data you will need to complete your tax return. If you intend to file online, now is a good time to register with the Inland Revenue (unless you have your User ID and password from last year) as it can take 3 to 5 days to receive the Activation PIN.

Step 4

Occasionally, we update the program over the Internet to add new features or take account of any IR changes. To ensure you have the latest version of the program, connect to the Internet and go to Help>Check for Updates.

Step 5

On the Start screen create a new SA100 return (or bring forward a 2003 return if you have one), then follow the EasyStep prompts and enter the information requested.  You should choose whether you intend to file online or by printing a paper return as the different methods require different entries.  You can also password protect your return by selecting File>Properties/Security.

Step 6

TaxCalc automatically saves your file. When you first close TaxCalc, it will use as the filename, the name in taxpayer details. To give it a different name, Select File>Save As and specify the name.

Step 7

When you have completed your return, the Check tab will highlight any errors you need to correct. Having done so, you can lock the file so as to prevent any accidental change from the return filed [File>Properties/Security].

Step 8

If you are not filing online, you will need to print out and check your return before signing it on page 10 and sending it to the Inland Revenue. To find detailed personal tax summaries, go to the forms list when in Forms mode.

Step 9

Make a backup copy of your final return and store it in a safe place. If you file online, a log of your submission is automatically made and saved in the same folder as your tax file.

Document checklist

Personal details
If you are employed or a minister of religion
If you are self-employed or in a partnership
If you are a Lloyd's underwriter
If you are receiving a pension
If you get state benefits
If you get income from property
If you have income from savings and investments
If you paid interest on a loan qualifying for tax relief
If you made gifts to charity
If you made pension contributions
If you made a capital gain on parting with property or investments
 

Before you start filling in the data entry screens, it is worth collecting together the documentation you need to refer to. Clink on the links above to go to checklists of the information that may be needed.

Personal details


Back to the Document checklist

If you are employed or a minister of religion

·         Your P60, which your employer should give you no later than 31 May 2004.

·         Your employer's reference number, which may be on your P60 or your payslip. If you have already been sent a tax return, this may appear on the front of the return under 'Employer reference'

·         If you calculated your own PAYE under the Direct Collection or Direct Payment procedure, your P14

·         A list of your taxable fringe benefits. If you earn at a rate of £8,500 a year or more, or are a director, your employer must give you a copy of the form P11D by 6 July 2004. This is the form on which your employer discloses your perks to your tax office.

·         A list of fixed expense allowances or expenses for which you've been reimbursed (also on your P11D).

·         A list of any allowable expenses for which you haven't been reimbursed.

·         Details of redundancy or other payments you received when you left your job.

·         If you left a job, your P45  

·         Any PAYE coding notice received since November 2002.

·         If you received taxable share options or free or cheap shares from your work, dates relating to the shares, their market values, anything you paid for them and the price at which you exercised your option.

·         If you have an income-contingent student loan, details of any loan repayments deducted from your pay.

·         If you worked abroad, details of any foreign tax paid.

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If you are self-employed or in partnership

·         A set of accounts, if you have them - otherwise your records of turnover and expenses.

·         Records of any drawings of cash and goods for personal use.

·         Records of any capital equipment you may have bought or sold which qualified for capital allowances.

·         Details of any overlap profits arising when you started in business or during the transition to self-assessment.

·         Details of any unused losses realised in earlier years.

·         A copy of your Statement of Account showing payments of tax already made for 2003-04.

·         If you are a partner, a copy of the partnership statement showing your share of the partnership's profit/loss and any other income.

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If you are a Lloyd's underwriter

·         Form CTA 1(2000) and giving the syndicate results for the 1998 account.

·         Form CTA 2(2003) (MSU Taxation Advice for 2003-04) giving information about non-syndicate receipts.

·         Tax vouchers which came with dividends or distributions - ask the unit trust manager, company or the Lloyd's Members Funds Department in Chatham if you do not have any.

·         Notes of interest received on savings accounts - go back through your statements or contact the bank, building society or members' agent.

·         If you received any non-UK interest with tax deducted, certificates of any tax paid.

·         Details of any premiums paid for Stop Loss insurance.

·         Details of any repayments to the Lloyd's Central Fund.

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If you are receiving a pension

·         Amounts of any state pension you were entitled to (if you are unsure of exactly how much you received, ask your Benefit Office for form B735 (specifying the period from 6 April 2003 to 5 April 2004).

·         Records of any personal pension or employer's pension - you should have a P60 for any pension paid under PAYE, and a statement from anyone who paid you a personal pension.

·         Any PAYE coding notice received since November 2002.

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If you get state benefits

·         A statement of amounts received (from your benefit office)

·         If you were unemployed, a P60U (from your benefit office)

·         If you were claiming incapacity benefit, form P45U if you stopped claiming during the tax year, or a form P60U if you were still claiming on 5 April 2004.

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If you get income from property

·         Records of payments (eg rent) due and received.

·         Records of allowable expenses incurred - which may mean going back through gas, electricity bills etc.

·         Records of any capital equipment you may have bought or sold which qualified for capital allowances (this applies to some types of property only).

·         A copy of your Statement of Account if you have already made any tax payments for 2003-04.

·         Details of any foreign tax paid on foreign property.

·         Details of any unused losses made in earlier years.

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If you have income from savings and investments

·         Tax vouchers which came with dividends or distributions - these may have been sent direct to your bank with the dividends or distributions.

·         If you took shares in place of cash dividends, you will need the offer letter showing the number of shares and their market value at the time of issue.

·         Notes of interest received on savings accounts - go back through your statements or contact the bank or building society. If you have received interest without tax being deducted, ask for a statement of interest not taxed.

·         Copies of any 'chargeable event certificate' issued by the life insurance company if you cashed in a life insurance policy.

·         For income from abroad, do not forget the costs of expenses incurred abroad in managing or collecting it; details of any foreign tax deducted; the exchange rate when the income was paid to you if you received it in foreign currency; the cost of converting it into sterling (if reasonable)

·         If you are involved with a trust or settlement, the statement received from the trustees should give details of your income from the trust and tax paid.

·         If you are investing in the Enterprise Investment Scheme, forms EIS3 or EIS5 (issued by the scheme manager).

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If you paid interest on a loan qualifying for tax relief

·         A certificate of interest paid (from the lender).

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If you made gifts to charity

·         Records of any Gift Aid donations, one-off and regular.

·         Copies of any Gift Aid declarations.

·         Records of any donations deducted from your pay under the Payroll Giving scheme.

·         Copies of any deeds of covenant under which you give money to charity.

·         Records of any gifts of shares, including costs such as brokers' fees or stamp duty, incurred in making the gift.

·         If you gave land to a charity, a copy of the certificate that the charity should have given you.

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If you made pension contributions

·         Any pension contribution certificate or other record of payment made.

·         FSAVC certificate.

·         Details of any amounts carried back to previous tax years. Inland Revenue Help Sheet IR330 Pension Payments is a useful way of recording such payments. Click the button to view a copy of the Help Sheet.

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If you made a capital gain on parting with property or investments

·         Dates of when you disposed of the asset, together with its disposal proceeds.

·         If you owned the asset before 31 March 1982, the market value on that date. For quoted shares, prices are published in the Stock Exchange Daily Official List.

·         The date of when you acquired the asset and its acquisition cost at that time, unless you have already made the irrevocable election to have all your assets treated as if acquired on 31 March 1982.

·         Dates and amounts of any allowable expenses incurred (but pre-1982 expenses are ignored if you have made the irrevocable election described above).

Back to the Document checklist | Getting started | TaxCalc website