Self Assessment for Income Tax: Checklist for QuickBooks

If you’re self-employed, earning untaxed income, or part of a business partnership, you’ll likely need to file a return. Here’s a breakdown of when it's required.

You must submit a Self Assessment tax return if, during the last tax year (6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024), you were:

• Self-employed as a sole trader and earned more than £1,000
• A partner in a business partnership and earned more than £1,000

You may also need to file if you received untaxed income, such as:

• Tips and commissions 
• Rental income from property
• Income from savings, investments, or dividends
• Foreign income

As a general rule, if you earn untaxed income then you need to complete a Self Assessment. Not sure if you need to submit a tax return this year? Check HMRC's guidance and use their online tool to find out.

These are the critical deadlines for the 2023/24 tax year. Missing them could result in penalties, so make sure you plan ahead.

<br><a href="https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/year-end-payroll/payroll-tax-changes/L1JC1iD1m_GB_en_GB?uid=m7ewosve" data-type="URL" data-id="https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/help-article/year-end-payroll/payroll-tax-changes/L1JC1iD1m_GB_en_GB?uid=m7ewosve" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Learn more about the Payroll tax changes for the 2025/26 UK tax year.</a>

If you can’t pay by 31 January, you may be able to set up a Time to Pay Arrangement with HMRC.

If you’ve never submitted a Self Assessment return before, you’ll need to register online with HMRC first. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number.

Register with HMRC.

What information do I need to register?

Before you register, make sure your have the following information ready:

• Your Government Gateway credentials 
• Your National Insurance number 
• Your 10-digit UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference)
• Your P60 form, which details your income and the tax that you’ve already paid 
• Records of any expenses related to self-employment
• Details about your untaxed income from self-employment, dividends and interest on shares

Once registered, use your UTR, user ID and password to create a Government Gateway account.

 After signing in, activate your Self Assessment under your personal tax account.

In QuickBooks, you’ll need to set your business type correctly so your tax information appears accurately.

1. In QuickBooks, select the gear icon to open your Account and settings.
2. Select the Company tab, and then Company type. 
3. Set the tax form as Sole proprietor.
4. Select Save.

Once this is done, the Income Tax tab should appear in the Taxes centre.

Connecting your bank and credit card accounts allows QuickBooks to automatically import your latest transactions every 24 hours.

• Check if your bank is supported by QuickBooks’ bank feed list.
• If not, you can upload transactions manually.

Review your imported transactions to make sure they’re accurate and categorised properly.

• To save time, you can set up bank rules to automate categorisation of recurring expenses.
• Use QuickBooks’ account and detail types to match transactions correctly.
• If you see a duplicate transaction or a personal expense that you don't want included in your Self Assessment tax return, you can exclude or delete transactions.

It's always good practice to keep track of all your income and expenses throughout the year. Staying organised will make it easier for you to fill in your tax return and claim back any expenses.

Let's say you purchased something in cash or you have a transaction that doesn’t go through your bank, you can add these types of expenses manually into QuickBooks.

It’s time to review your income tax return estimate and find out how much you owe HMRC. Note, you may owe less if you’ve made payments in advance to HMRC or you if you qualify for income tax relief.

1. Go to Taxes.
2. Select VAT (Take me there).
3. Select the tax year you wish to view and select Got it.

Tip: To see the accounts where your expenses are categorised under and the transactions recorded in those accounts, select the category.

QuickBooks will display a breakdown of your income and expenses, mapped to HMRC’s Self Assessment categories. You can export this information to help fill out your return.

Check out the current income tax rates and bands.

Once you’ve reviewed your estimate, export the report from QuickBooks. You’ll need to manually enter the information into HMRC’s Self Assessment portal.

1. At the bottom of the tax summary, select Export. 
2. Copy the totals from the exported file
3. Sign in to HMRC's online service.
4. Paste your figures into the correct boxes and submit your return.
5. HMRC will confirm your submission with a reference number

You must pay your tax bill by midnight on 31 January 2025 to avoid late payment penalties.
You can pay online, by bank transfer, or set up a Time to Pay plan if you need more time.

More about Self Assessment payment options.