Martin Lewis shares tax tip for pensioners who need to complete this form

An important tax deadline is coming up very soon

Martin Lewis has issued some crucial tax tips for pensioners. In a recent episode of his BBC podcast, the money expert tackled various tax matters. The show covered everything from income tax changes affecting state pensioners to the ins and outs of inheritance tax and capital gains tax.

Two tax specialists joined Mr Lewis to break down the regulations, including chartered accountant Rebecca Benneyworth. An 80-year-old listener named Cathy reached out for help with her struggles completing HMRC’s self-assessment forms.

With the January 31 deadline looming to submit your tax return for the previous year, the older taxpayer was having issues filling in the forms. She explained she owed just £150 in tax but found many tax advisors charging hefty fees for their services.

Mr Lewis urged taxpayers to sort their self-assessment between October and December, well before the January cut-off point. You can be slapped with penalties if fail to submit your tax return on time.

‘They will sort out your tax’

Ms Benneyworth highlighted some of the support available for elderly taxpayers. She explained: “If you are on a low income, there are two tax charities.

“One I’m thinking of is Tax Help for Older People. They have an army of volunteers – I’ve worked as a volunteer in the past – for elderly people on low incomes.

“They will come round to your house and they will sit with you, and they will sort out your tax.” The tax professional suggested another charity that could help.

She said: “The other one is Tax Aid. They are more London-based but you can deal with them on the phone or by email. Again, they help people who’ve got low incomes who have got themselves into a mess with their tax affairs for free.

“Lots of tax professionals make donations to those charities at the end of the year because we all think they do an absolutely fabulous job.” She also offered another piece of advice for getting tax guidance.

HMRC online help

The accountant said: “I wouldn’t suggest it to everybody but you might get a bit of help on webchat [on the Government website]. HMRC is devoting quite a lot of money and resource to webchat.

“Some of it is the computer says yes or no, but if you are asking questions that they think you need a real life advisor, you may well be able to get put on to an advisor, who might help you.” Mr Lewis shared some further thoughts, encouraging HMRC to step up its services to help customers at this busy time of year.

He said: “This isn’t about a cost [for HMRC]. Ultimately, do it right and you collect more tax revenue, because people are paying the right tax. When you don’t know what to do, it’s not good for society.”

Submit your tax return by January 31 or you could face a hefty fine, and these charges can quickly escalate. An initial penalty of £100 will be imposed for late self-assessment filing. More penalties will be added if you fail to pay the owed amount within a specified timeframe.

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