Taxyearvo answers

Every answer below is aimed at a question people measurably search for, is written from named sources, and links to the page that handles the job itself. None of them is a landing page in disguise.

• How to get a UTR number: register first, then wait for the post

  What a UTR is, how to get one, how long it takes, and the 5 October deadline that decides whether you have left it too late.

• When do I need to register as self employed? The £1,000 test and the 5 October deadline

  The 5 October deadline, the £1,000 trading allowance that can mean you need not register at all, and what registering actually sets up.

• When does the tax year end, when does the tax year start, and what follows 5 April: registration, filing and the two payment dates

  The UK tax year ends on 5 April. What each date after it is for, and which year a payment near the boundary belongs to.

• Landlord tax on a Self Assessment return: how rental profit is worked out

  How rental profit is worked out for a Self Assessment return, what is deductible, and why the finance-cost restriction changes the answer.

• Landlord expenses list: what is deductible against rental income, what is not, and what people really mean when they ask how to avoid tax on rental income

  A working list of deductible letting expenses, the capital costs that are not deductible, and the legitimate reliefs that reduce a rental bill.

• CIS calculator UK: what the deduction works out, and why a refund usually follows

  How CIS deductions are calculated, why subcontractors are usually owed a refund, and how the deduction reaches the Self Assessment return.

• What does T mean on tax code letters, and what it changes about your pay

  What the T suffix on a PAYE tax code means, why HMRC uses it, what SD0 does, and how a wrong code is corrected.

• How long does a tax return take, from the first receipt to the refund

  Realistic timings for gathering figures, filing, HMRC processing and a refund, and what actually makes a return slow.

• Tax refund calculator UK: where an overpayment comes from and how it is claimed

  Why refunds happen, what an emergency tax code costs you, how a self-employed rebate is calculated, and how each one is claimed back.

• Self assessment tax calculator UK: what a self assessment tax return calculator UK actually applies, in the order the rules apply it, and the three things no calculator can know

  The order a Self Assessment bill is calculated in, what each step does, and where an online calculator will mislead you.

• How to amend a tax return after filing: when you can amend tax return figures yourself, what changes on the bill, and what to do once the window has closed

  The window for changing a filed Self Assessment return, how an amendment moves the bill and the payments on account, and the route after it closes.

• Taxi driver tax return: mileage, platform income and what a driver can deduct

  How drivers and side-hustlers work out profit for a Self Assessment return: mileage against actual costs, platform income, and the trading allowance.

• Working from home relief for employees, and how much can you claim for washing uniform UK: the flat rates, who qualifies, and how each claim is made

  The flat rate for working at home, the uniform laundry allowance, who actually qualifies for each, and how to claim without paying a fee.