• A clear checklist takes the stress out of Self Assessment 🙌🏻

• You’ll need your income records, expenses, and a few key personal details

• Getting organised early helps avoid penalties and unexpected tax bills

• This also helps us prep for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA)

• We’re still onboarding Self Assessment clients for 2024/25, but only until early December.

📋 Self Assessment Checklist: What to Have Ready Before You File

If you’re self-employed or earn income outside of PAYE, Self Assessment season can feel a bit overwhelming 🤔

However, once you understand what HMRC expects, it becomes much easier to handle.

At BarrettStacey Accounting, we work with ambitious sole traders, landlords and business mums across the UK.

If you’re filing for the 2024/25 tax year, here’s what you’ll need to get started…

🔍 1. Your UTR and NI number

Start with the basics:

• UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference)

• National Insurance number

You’ll find these on HMRC letters or inside your Government Gateway account.

💼 2. Income records

Depending on your income, you’ll need:

• Business income (from software, spreadsheets, invoices etc)

• Employment income (P60, P45, P11D if relevant)

• Rental income (plus expenses)

• Bank interest, dividends or savings income

• Grants received (e.g. SEISS if still relevant)

• Foreign income or pensions

If we do your bookkeeping, we’ll already have most of this sorted for you; all you’ll need to do is fill out our Annual Self Assessment Tax Return Questionnaire 😊. 

Click here if you’d like to contact us to see if we have the capacity to help you with your Self Assessment Tax Return.

🧾 3. Business expenses

To reduce your tax bill, you can include:

• Office costs (software, stationery, equipment)

• Travel and mileage

• Utilities and phone (proportioned for home use)

• Subcontractors or freelancers

• Insurance, training, professional fees

• Website, branding, social media costs

This is often where people miss out, so we double-check everything you’re allowed to claim 🙌🏻

📅 4. Important dates

• The 2024/25 tax year runs from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025

• The deadline to submit and pay is 31 January 2026

• But filing early avoids surprise tax bills and stress 😊

💡 5. Other things to include

• Student loan repayments

• Child Benefit if your income is over £50,000

• Pension contributions

• Gift Aid donations

• Marriage allowance

• Capital gains from property or shares

🧠 Bonus: MTD Prep

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts in April 2026, and this return is a great time to check if you’re affected.

We’ll help you:

• See if you’re over the £50,000 threshold

• Confirm your bookkeeping is digital

• Check if your software is compatible

• Choose whether we’ll submit quarterly updates for you

Getting ready now keeps things simple later 😊

⏰ Last Call for Self Assessment Onboarding

We’re still taking on new Self Assessment clients for 2024/25, but we’ll be closing to new clients in early December.

This checklist is your first step.
Your next step? Book a call so we can take care of the rest 🙌🏻

📞 Book your free discovery call
📩 ask@barrettstacey.co.uk

Authored by Hayleigh Barrett. Director.

As founder of BarrettStacey Accounting, she leads a friendly, female-led team that focuses on clarity, communication and care, not just compliance.