I am a self-employed personal tax advisor based near the Northcote Road in Battersea/Clapham Junction, Southwest London.
[12 February 2026 update] - with the focus of the 31 January 2026 late filing deadline now behind me, here are some thoughts, themes and reminders from this year’s Self-Assessment season:
Self-Assessment Returns not filed by 31 January 2026 will now have attracted an automatic £100 late filing penalty. Returns that remain un-filed by 1 May 2026 will attract an automatic £10 per day penalty from 1 May 2026 until 31 July 2026. Returns that remain un-filed by 1 August 2026 will attract a minimum £300 automatic late filing penalty.
Tax liabilities not paid by 31 January 2026 will already be attracting interest calculated daily at a rate of 7.75%. Tax liabilities not paid by 3 March 2026 will attract an automatic 5% late payment surcharge. Tax liabilities not paid by 1 August 2026 will attract an automatic 5% late payment surcharge.
Pensions remain an area of personal tax where clients have had lots of different questions; the distinction between ‘Salary Sacrifice’ and ‘Relief at Source’ schemes remains in place and some payslips, and guidance from employers, are more useful than others; the tapered Annual Allowance and unused Annual Allowance carry forwards from prior years for pension inputs for high earning clients remain a challenge especially where there may have been multiple employers and pension plans over the last 4 years. With regards to tax relief claims for ‘relief at source’ pensions, it is estimated that over £1bn of tax relief is under-claimed per year.
Pension contribution planning alongside childcare funding payments, which are lost when adjusted net income rises above £100,000, remains a very active area for clients.
Sticking with pensions for one last point - where individuals have multiple pension pots from different employments, it may be beneficial to take financial advice with regards to consolidating these pension pots - I can happily refer clients to financial advisors in this regard.
Investment income/capital gains and losses from investment platforms. Thankfully tax packs from investment platforms appear to have dramatically improved in recent years. The mid-year capital gains tax rate increases added a little complexity that we have not seen since June 2010!
HMRC’s Simple Assessments, created in a bid to keep PAYE only clients out of Self-Assessment, have been incorrect more times than correct!
Looking forward from January 2026, clients have the following new(ish) challenges to navigate - Making Tax Digital, the Foreign Income and Gains regime and the Temporary Repatriation Facility (in addition to business as usual!).
I have over 20 years’ experience working with individuals and their UK personal income and UK capital gains tax affairs. I am a member of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT).
Some typical examples of the work I assist clients with are as follows:
Individuals who need to file a UK Self-Assessment Tax Return for the first time, for example, due to high earnings or pension contributions.
Individuals who are moving to the UK and need assistance with the UK reporting of any non-UK income or gains, or their residency and FIG position.
Individuals who have left or are leaving the UK and need advice regarding their UK tax residency and the retention of any UK sourced investment or property income i.e. non-resident landlords.
Assistance with capital gains tax calculations, including main residence relief, for UK Self-Assessment Tax Returns, or 60 day capital gains Tax Returns for sales of UK property.
Being self-employed, I retain sole responsibility for client work - I do not nearshore, outsource, offshore, delegate or automate client work. If I cannot assist you with a specific matter (for example, corporation tax for a Ltd. company, bookkeeping, VAT, US personal tax, Trusts & estate matters etc) I have a wide network of contacts that I can recommend on an arm’s length basis - ranging from other self-employed tax advisors to contacts within the Big 4 Global Professional Services firms.