Simpler tax return for millions

There is an earlier deadline for sending in the paper version of the form

A simpler tax return is being sent by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to most of the 9.3 million self-assessment tax payers.

The forms, for the 2007-08 tax year, also have new deadlines for completion.

Paper forms will need to be submitted by 31 October 2008, while people who file online will have a later deadline of 31 January 2009.

The Revenue said the new form "has fewer questions, simpler language and an improved layout".

The new forms have been designed after a two-year pilot involving 7,000 self-assessment tax payers.

This is the first major revamp since the previous version was introduced in 1997, although a short version was introduced in 2005 for taxpayers with particularly simple affairs.

Earlier deadline

The new paper form will be sent to people who have not filed online before, or who do not qualify for the short version.

There needs to be a concerted campaign to make people realise the deadline has shortened considerably Chas Roy-Chowdhury, ACCA

Online filers will be sent a reminder to file, rather than the new paper form.

Among the main changes to the new form will be

• putting the main source of income at the start of the form, not at the end
• a new, short, self-employment section
• a new "additional information" page for questions answered by relatively few people.

The Revenue said the aim was to make things easier for those who are self-employed or who do not use an accountant to complete the form.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) agreed that the changes were a move in the right direction.

"It takes a lot of the heat out of filing the return," he said.

"But we were not in favour of bringing forward the deadline for paper filing, which used to be at the end of January.

"There needs to be a concerted campaign to make people realise the deadline has shortened considerably," he said.