Do I need to do tax self assessment for tax year when I MyCo Ltd did not pay me?

[Relaxed]

Do I still need to do a tax self assessment for tax year when I MyCo Ltd did not pay me anything?
I did PAYE work so there was very little reason to take any money from limited company.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

You will need to do a self assessment if HMRC ask you to do one. You will receive a notice to file a tax return of this is the case.

If you are already registered for self assessment then you would have already received one for 2014/15, due the end of this month. You do have to submit it even if you took no earnings from YourCo.

If, for some reason, you're not registered for self assessment, haven't received a notice to file a tax return and have no unreported chargeable income that hasn't already had tax deducted at source then you don't have anything to report to HMRC, but this seems unlikely.

[mudskipper]

HMRC guidance says that a company director should complete a tax return - lack of pay does not excuse you unless you are a non-profit organisation.

https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-t...d-a-tax-return


2. Who must complete a tax return

You’ll need to send a tax return if, in the last tax year:

• you were a company director - unless it was for a non-profit organisation (eg a charity) and you didn’t get any pay or benefits, like a company car

[northernladuk]

HMRC guidance says that a company director should complete a tax return - lack of pay does not excuse you unless you are a non-profit organisation.

https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-t...d-a-tax-return


2. Who must complete a tax return

You’ll need to send a tax return if, in the last tax year:

• you were a company director - unless it was for a non-profit organisation (eg a charity) and you didn’t get any pay or benefits, like a company car

Indeed but we've had some great arguments about whether they need to if they haven't been paid.

[mudskipper]

Indeed but we've had some great arguments about whether they need to if they haven't been paid.

We have - it is guidance not law. Personally, I'd play it safe and do one.

[northernladuk]

We have - it is guidance not law. Personally, I'd play it safe and do one.

Totally this...

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

We have - it is guidance not law. Personally, I'd play it safe and do one.

Never quite understood this point of view. How is it playing safe? What are you worried about? Is there some mysterious "failure to notify HMRC you're a company director even though you have no untaxed income" penalty I'm not aware of?

If you've got no untaxed income and HMRC would like you to do a tax return then let them ask you to do one by sending a notice to file...

Also, as discussed in a more recent thread, even if you do have to complete a tax return I'm not sure you need to fill out an employment page for any directorships where you didn't receive any salary or benefits and I'm sure the HMRC self assessment software makes is clear, but it's been a few years since I used it.

I still suspect OP is already in the system and therefore should have already received such a notice.

[Andrew@Wisteria]

Indeed but we've had some great arguments about whether they need to if they haven't been paid.

It's not so much whether you have been paid but whether there's a tax liability.

Most will be caught with the new dividend rules I suspect.