Using myNetWorth to Assist with Completion of UK Self Assessment Income Tax Return

18/06/2022; 806 words; 4 minutes to read.

One of the major benefits of using MyNetWorth is its capability to generate bespoke reports to calaculate much of the financial information needed to complete an annual Self Assessment Income Tax Return for the UK HMRC. This post walks you through some of the processes that I used in 2022 to complete my own Self Assessment Income Tax Return. By the way, you can use the same processes in iNetWorth, although I would not recommend trying to do so on an iPhone; using an iPad is much more practical.

I retired from full time paid employment some time ago. As a result I receive a state pension and a private pension. I also have some savings that generate a little bit of interest and I make regular donations to charity. This means that my financial affairs are complex enough for me to have to complete a tax return each year. I use TaxCalc software to generate and file my tax return but, before I can even start doing that, I need to compile a number of figures ready for entry into TaxCalc. This is where MyNetWorth comes in …

After completing the administrative sections of TaxCalc, such as name and address, types of employment, etc. I have to provide figures for the income received from my pensions. Doing that for my private pension is straightforward; I simply take the figure from the P60 sent to me by my pension provider. First though, I have to enter the amount of state pension that I received over the tax year (06 Apr 21 to 05 Apr 22 inclusive). The government does not provide me with a P60 for my state pension; I have to work it out from the payments received (and entered into MyNetWorth over the year). So I go to the Reports View and set the following filters:

• Filter transactions by account: True
• Account selected: Chris (Pensions)
• Filter transactions by payee: True
• Payee selected: DWP
• Filter transactions by start date: True
• Start date selected (date after which transactions are to be included): 05/04/2021
• Filter transactions by end date: True
• End date selected (date before which transactions are to be included): 06/04/2022

I then click on the Apply button and extract the top figure in the Balance column of the report generated in the Detail View for entry into TaxCalc. If I wish, I can print off a copy of the report or save it to a CSV file by clicking on the File main menu item, selecting Export View to CSV, navigating to my chosen directory, entering my chosen filename and clicking on the Save button.

Next I need to enter any interest that I have received. I go to the Reports View and set the following filters:

• Filter transactions by account: True
• Account selected: Interest
• Filter transactions by payee: False
• Filter transactions by start date: True
• Start date selected (date after which transactions are to be included): 05/04/2021
• Filter transactions by end date: True
• End date selected (date before which transactions are to be included): 06/04/2022

As it happens, the report produced includes interest received by both me and my wife. I need to enter the interest that I alone have received so I must save a copy of the report to a CSV file by clicking on the File main menu item, selecting Export View to CSV, navigating to my chosen directory, entering my chosen filename and clicking on the Save button. I then open the saved file in the Numbers app, remove the rows that refer to my wife, replace the Balance column figures with a formula that calculates the running balance automatically and take the top figure in the Balance column. If I choose to list the interest that I received in each of my savings accounts, which is something the TaxCalc supports (generating the total required through a a built-in wizard), I can simply select Filter transactions by payee to generate a set of reports in MyNetWorth and enter the total for each savings account into TaxCalc.