What to do if you haven’t registered for Self Assesment yet.

If you have a self employed trade, and you haven’t used self assessment before, then you need to register.

Normally you need to register for self assessment, within 6 months of the end of the tax year. For this year that means if you’ve got profits between 6th April 2022 and 5th April 2023, then you should have registered by October 2023. 

If you haven’t, don’t panic. 

The deadline to file self assessment is 31st of January, and it should take 1-2 weeks to get your tax reference number, so you can still make it. 

While you’re waiting for your tax reference you can get your paperwork in order. You can use a bookkeeping system like Free Agent or Quick books, to help organise it quickly, use excel, or give it to an accountant to prepare for you. 

Don’t hang around because if you miss the 31st January deadline, HMRC can issue a penalty.