Year after year, millions of people pay more tax than they need to. With a little planning you can ensure you exploit your tax allowances and take steps to cut your tax bill. If you are one of the nine million people who get a self assessment tax return, you are required by law to complete it correctly and on time. Last year, the Inland Revenue collected hundreds of millions of pounds in extra tax through enquiries into incorrect returns. Every year, over half a million people miss that last filing deadline, incurring automatic fines of GBP100 or more. This is the book that will help you: *pay only the minimum tax (showing you where you may be overpaying and what to do about it) *how to avoid the self assessment pitfalls It's designed to make an unpleasant task as easy as possible and save you tax at the same time. Annually updated, the book always includes the latest budget changes, so the advice is always bang up-to-date. And it's written in easily understood jargon free language, so you'll get the most from the information, with the least effort.Inside the book you will find: *a step-by-step guide to completing your tax return *100 tax-saving ideas *advice on dealing with your tax office *how to claim back the tax you are owed *guidance on the new tax credits, including how to maximise the amount you can claim *tips on tax-efficient investments *all you need to know about how the Budget 2006 affects you

Table of Contents

PART I HOW TO PAY LESS TAX 1 Tax changes for 2007-8 2 An overview of income tax 3 Paying and reclaiming tax 4 Dealing with tax problems 5 Tax and your household 6 Tax and your home 7 Savings, investments and pensions 8 Make the most of fringe benefits 9 Minimising capital gains tax 10 Gifts and passing your money on PART II FILLING IN YOUR TAX RETURN 11 Getting started 12 Income 13 Reliefs 14 Allowances 15 Employment 16 Share schemes 17 Self-employment 18 Partnerships 19 Land and property 20 Foreign income 21 Trusts 22 Capital gains 23 Non-residence APPENDICES A Tax-free income B Converting net income to gross C The short tax return D Tax deadlines E Useful leaflets, forms and contacts

Author Biography

Sara Williams is a former investment analyst and financial journalist. She has contributed many articles on tax and finance for national newspapers and for a number of years wrote for Which?, including the Which? Tax-Saving Guide and the Which? Book of Tax. She is also the author of the best selling, FT Guide to Business Start Up.