Did you know that you can do your annual tax self-assessment via an app on your phone? More than 50,000 people have already used the service, so we decided to give it a whirl ourselves. Good news! Much as we normally criticise HMRC, we can find no fault with their self-assessment app. It’s pretty much idiot-proof, especially if your tax affairs are fairly standard and you’ve previously done your self assessments online. Well done HMRC for making this so straight forward.
To use the app you just need your Government Gateway user ID and password that you will have used for previous returns. If you haven’t got these, you will need two forms of identity such as passport and driving licence. HMRC are rolling out the ability to use the camera on your phone to confirm a match with your driving licence, although this is not available for everyone currently.
The app can also provide information to help complete your tax return, including your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), National Insurance number, information from any PAYE employment for the 2021 to 2022 tax year, or details of any tax credits payments.
Once you have signed into the app for the first time, you will be able to use facial recognition, fingerprint or a 6-digit pin to get fast and secure access.
The deadline for completing tax returns for the 2021 to 2022 tax year and pay any tax owed is 31 January 2023.
