A Rat Ate My Tax Return

Have you submitted your tax return yet?  With the deadline of 31st January looming, many self-employed people are busy delving into drawers full of receipts and flicking through files trying to get everything up to date and organised so that they can complete their return before the end of next month.  If this is you, don’t worry – you’re not alone! 

If you haven’t even thought about sorting out your tax return yet, are you one of the people who told HMRC that they were too short to reach the post box? Or maybe your fingers were too cold? HMRC’s list of terrible (but funny) excuses for late tax returns goes on (and is entertaining to read through if you have a spare minute or two). 

Joking aside, it’s an important deadline, and it’s not something you want to rush at the last minute. If you miss it, you could be subject to a penalty and have to pay for your lateness. If you own a small to medium-sized business, it might be worth thinking about outsourcing to a qualified accountant. If not for this tax cut-off, at least you can make next January less stressful!!  Plus, choosing to outsource work and  tasks that are not utilising your key skills  will help you focus solely on your business and the priorities of your day-to-day role.

Asking for help isn’t admitting defeat or not being very good at your job. It’s all about prioritising the things that you’re an expert at and need to get done to keep your business running, then outsourcing other tasks that someone else can do for you. If you attend networking events, keep tabs on who could help you with specific tasks and connect with them on LinkedIn. You never know when you may need to give them a quick call! 

So, whether your mother-in-law is a witch, your husband ran over your laptop, a rat ate your paperwork or you’re simply not very good with tax returns, don’t make excuses! Outsource jobs, tasks and responsibilities to others if you need to. Then you can focus on running your business!