12 Money-Saving Tips This Christmas From SimpleTax

As much as we love spreading the festive cheer at Christmas, it can soon take a toll on your bank balance. But that doesn’t mean you have to follow in Scrooge’s footsteps to protect your finances in December; a few clever tricks can cut your tax bill and make being generous feel even better.

Curious to know what they might be? Here are 12 money-saving tips from the SimpleTax team to put a spring in your step this season:

1. File your tax return by the 30^th December to pay a bill of £3,000 or less via PAYE and your salary
2. If you’re a landlord think about doing some repairs to your properties. These are tax deductible and will give your tenant a warm feeling over the festive period
3. Give a Christmas bonus to your employees. You could give a bottle of wine, gift vouchers or even a turkey! You can gift up to £50 (inc VAT) as long as it’s not in monetary form
4. Get your tax return done early so you can have a stress-free Christmas. Why wait? According to HMRC 1,944 people actually submitted their self-assessment tax return online on Christmas Day last year!
5. Throw your employees a Christmas party. You can spend up to £150 (inc VAT) per employee as long as it becomes an annual event!
6. If you work from home don’t forget to claim a proportion of your household bills on your tax return
7. They’re not tax deductible, but your suppliers really appreciate a bottle at Christmas. If you want to gift something that’s tax deductible it’s got to be emblazoned with your logo, but we don’t think a mouse mat’s going to be as well received…
8. Fill your ISA before April 6^th, the current allowance of £20,000 per person and future interest earned is tax free
9. Don’t miss the Self Assessment deadline – filing after the 31^st January incurs an automatic £100 fine
10. Make sure you’ve stopped paying National Insurance contributions if you’re still working beyond the state retirement age
11. Register for a UTR by the 20^th December if you need to fill in a tax return for the first time – read our guide here.
12. Give a little or a lot: giving via Gift Aid allows the charity to claim the tax back – Additional rate tax payers can also claim the difference between the basic and higher income tax bands. A National Trust family membership of £115 is worth £28.80 on your tax return if you’re higher rate tax payer and we’re sure your family will appreciate it

Follow these 12 tips to save money this Christmas while putting smiles on the faces of those around you! Want to identify more clever ways to reduce your Self Assessment tax bill? Head to SimpleTax to start your free trial today, and identify tax relief opportunities that might have slipped through the net before you submit your tax return this winter.

Blog content is for information purposes and over time may become outdated, although we do strive to keep it current. It's written to help you understand your Tax's and is not to be relied upon as professional accounting, tax and legal advice due to differences in everyone's circumstances. For additional help please contact our support team or HMRC.