Taxing matters

Finally all the relevant info has arrived from the tax office - a variety of security codes, PINs, IDs and so on - so at last I took a deep breath and logged on the to Government Gateway website.

Last year I took my 3 tax returns to my local office, only to be refused a receipt for them. They wouldn't even tell me their surnames so that I could take a note of the people who accepted them from me. For a department who have twice in 10 years managed to mislay one or more of my returns in their capacious offices, they're not doing a lot to instill confidence in their users.

The one thing they kept insisting on, last year, was that for my peace of mind I really ought to be filing my returns online. Soon, they told me, it won't be possible to hand them in personally at all. We were a little worried about the security issues, but with all those codes and PINs I feel a lot safer than handing them into an office with no way of knowing whether they'll ever reach the right person.

So. The two personal returns worked fairly smoothly. Now for the Partnership return. After going through the same security rigmarole as the others, I found there was no dedicated software available with which to file it. I was presented with a list of 3rd party software companies, approved by the Revenue, and with a vague piece of advice stating that neither could they recommend one package over another, nor could they tell us which one was free, although it seemed there was at least one. I've yet to find it. I went through them all, and all of them seemed to cost money, as well as being a lot more complex than what I required.

Sighing heavily, I phoned the helpline. A nice Weegie lassie replied, and with a helpful tone of voice attempted to answer my question. In the end she had to agree that there didn't seem to be a way of filing a Partnership return online without paying for the privilege, and suggested either taking it in person or posting it Special Delivery. I could have done this a week ago, had they not tantalized me with offerings of PINs and easy online filing. Aaarghh!

So. I guess the Special Delivery option is the safest bet. At least I'll get a receipt from the Post Office, and it's guaranteed next day delivery. Costs a bit, but cheaper than buying a complete software package that I only need for a single, very small job.

Carlisle

I'm off on a free course in Carlisle tomorrow. ALL DAY. I'm not used to this sort of thing. How shall I keep awake? It sounds really interesting and useful, but it's an awfully early start - 9.30am. I just hope they have copious supplies of black coffee.