TaxCalc 2008 FAQs

TaxCalc 2008 Frequently Asked Questions

How do I report capital gains disposals on an R40 Claim for repayment?

There is a specific form, R40(CG), to report capital disposals relating to an R40, however these forms are not currently available in TaxCalc nor are they available from HMRC’s website. You can obtain a copy by telephoning HMRC on 0845 9000 404.

Alternatively, you can create a separate TaxCalc file and enter the disposals there. Then print out the SA108 capital gains pages and attach them to the R40 to report your gains, though officially this is not the correct way to do it.

My client has both employment and self-employment/partnership income, how do I limit the rate of Class 4 NICs charged to 1%?.

If, where an individual is liable to pay both Class 1 (and/or Class 2) and Class 4 NICs:

the Class1/Class 2 contributions charged at the main primary percentage, PLUS
the amount of Class 4 contributions chargeable at 8%, exceeds the limiting amount (£2,485.80 for 2007/08)

then the Class 4 NIC liability may be reduced and the excess earnings should be charged at 1%.

If this situation occurs, deferment should be requested from the National Insurance Contributions Office. Once deferment has been agreed, tick the appropriate:

box 34 (Self employment pages - Short)
box 99 (Self employment pages - Full) or
box 24 (Partnership pages)

and TaxCalc will automatically calculate the Class 4 NICs at 1% of the taxable profit over the earnings threshold (£5,225 for 2007/08).

Example:
Employment Income	£50,000
Partnership Income	£20,000
Class 1 NICs deducted at source
Threshold to upper earnings limit - £29,615 @ 11%	£3,257.65
Earnings over limit - £15,160 @ 1%	£151.60
	£3,409.25
As the Class 1 paid at the primary rate exceeds the limiting amount, Class 4 NICs are only due at 1%:
Class 4 NICs entered in box 4 (Tax Calculation pages)
Earnings over threshold - £14,775 @ 1%	£147.75

Where do I enter employment income from a foreign country?.

Employment income is entered in box 1 on the employment pages. Do not include any foreign tax paid in box 2. If tax has been taken off or paid in another country and you do not want to claim tax credit relief, enter in box 13 on page 2 of the Additional information pages (Share schemes and employment lump sums, compensation and deductions section) the amount of any foreign tax you have paid on your employment income.

If applicable you can claim tax credit relief. In this case leave box 13 blank and complete the top section on page 6 of the Foreign Pages.

As a non resident, how do I claim Personal Allowances where available?.

The Non residence pages have changed for 2008; these changes have been reflected in both the ‘Simple Step’ and ‘Forms’ mode.

Simple Step:
In Simple Step, on the first ‘non-residence’ screen, you need to select the box "Are you entitled to claim personal allowances under a Double Taxation agreement or other basis as a non resident?" As you work through the program using the ‘next’ button you will be taken to the screen “Personal allowances”, on this screen you will find 2 boxes one for claiming the personal allowance under a Double Taxation Agreement and the other for claiming ‘on some other basis’. The second box is mainly relevant where you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country or a national within a state of the European Economic Area.

HMRC Forms Mode:
In the Navigation menu on the left, click on ‘Non Residence’, you will be taken to the new Non Residence pages. At the top of the second page you will see the ‘Personal Allowances’ section, in order to claim the personal allowance, either box 15 or box 16 will need to be ticked.

Where do I enter my tax code?.

Your PAYE tax code is used by your employer/pension provider to work out how much tax to take off your pay each month. It is provided to them by HMRC in an attempt to collect the correct amount of tax from your pay throughout the tax year.

Your tax code is based on your personal allowance, which is then adjusted for other items like investment income, or benefits you may receive, if these adjustments are estimated correctly and your circumstances do not change during the tax year, you will not have any additional tax to pay at the end of the year. (Please note that the tax code does not affect the personal allowance due to you and you cannot alter your personal allowance).

At the end of the tax year HMRC and TaxCalc look at your actual income and benefits received, then deduct the personal allowances you are entitled to in order to work out how much tax you should pay or be repaid to you.

Because this calculation looks at the actual income and expenses, you do not need to enter your tax code in TaxCalc but you may need to enter some of the figures used by HMRC when they calculated it. E.g. unpaid tax for earlier years in box 7

I am not receiving the full age-related allowance.

If you are over 65 (i.e. you were born before the 6th of April 1943), then you may qualify for an additional ‘Age-related allowance’, on top of your ‘Personal allowance’ of £5,225.

The allowance has two rates depending on your Date of Birth.

Date of Birth	Maximum age-related allowance for 2007-08
After 5th April 1943	£0
Between 6th April 1933 and 5th April 1943	£2,325
Before 6th April 1933	£2,465

However, this allowance will be reduced if your ‘total income’ exceeds the upper limit of £20,900 (2007-08). The reduction in the allowance is £1 for every £2 over this upper limit.

Your 'total income' is broadly, your gross income minus some outgoings which qualify for tax relief (payments to charity are probably the most common example).

Mileage Wizard box 12 figures not being displayed.

The wizard for box 12 is also the wizard for box 17

If C is positive the result goes in box 17 and decreases your tax liability
If C is negative the result goes in box 12 and increases your tax liability

Finally, if data is entered in the last field on the wizard, this will be ‘added’ to anything that goes into box 17.

How do I claim the 10% deduction on foreign pension income?.

You should enter the full amount of your foreign pension income on the foreign pension screen. If you are entitled to claim the 10% deduction, then this will be calculated automatically for you and a note inserted to explain to HMRC that the 10% deduction has been applied, this is in line with HMRC’s instructions for online filing.

Why is the loss figure shown without brackets?.

If there is a specific box for profits and another separate box for losses, the loss figure will be shown as a positive as required by HMRC.

I can't see the tax relief for my Pension or Gift Aid payments?.

These payments are made net of basic rate tax. So, if you pay £78 then HMRC pays £22 into your pension fund or, it if is a gift aid payment, to the charity concerned. You receive relief for the basic rate tax by paying less in the first place.

If you are a higher rate taxpayer, then your basic rate band is extended by the gross amount of the contribution, so that more of your income is taxed at the 22% rate band. This defers the point at which you begin to pay higher rate tax, thus giving you your extra 18% tax relief.
The calculations can be seen in step 4 of the TaxCalc Summary.

Which self-employment form should I complete?

There are now 2 versions of the self-employment pages of the tax return, the Short Form and the Full Form. The short form is a simplified version of the Full form with fewer entry boxes.

If the turnover is more than £64,000 (or would be in a full year) then you must use the Full Form. Other circumstances in which you would need to use the Full form include reporting a change of accounting date or where you have a balance sheet. Full details are included within TaxCalc.

You may choose to complete the Full Form, even though you would be entitled to use the Short Form, so as to disclose all information to HMRC.

How do I report self-employment expenses?

If the turnover is less than £30,000 (or would be in a full year), then you have the option only to report the net amount of allowable expenses in the total box. This option applies whether you use the Full or Short form.

If the annual turnover is £30,000 or more then you will be required to provide a breakdown of expenses.

Short Form issues:

as HMRC’s online filing system cannot accept an entry in the total box only, the figure will need to be repeated in the Cost of goods box, (this will be done automatically in Simple Step mode).

Full Form issues

if you have chosen to report in the total box the net allowable expenses after deducting disallowable expenses but have a balance sheet, then the net profit or loss figure will not match the balance sheet profit figure. You will therefore need to report the disallowable expenses separately.

Why is TaxCalc using my Capital losses brought forward when my tapered gain is below the annual exemption?

When calculating capital gains there is an order specified by HMRC of how losses should be allocated.

First of all the gain should be calculated with reference to indexation if relevant, the next step is to then allocate firstly the losses of the current year, then losses brought forward, finally if eligible, taper relief. Losses are allocated to reduce your capital gains to the level of the annual exemption BEFORE taper relief.

Example:
Indexed Gain (90% taper available)	£25,000
Loss in yr	£2,000
Loss b/fwd 96/97 onwards	£5,000
Loss b/fwd 95/96 earlier	£15,000
Loss Allocation:
Gain	£25,000
Less Current losses	£(2,000)
Net Current Gain	£23,000
Less losses from 96/97	£(5,000)
	£18,000
Less losses from 95/96	£(8,800)
Gains subject to taper relief	£9,200
Taper Relief	£(920)
Tapered Gain	£8,280
Less Annual Exemption	£(9,200)
Taxable Gain	£Nil
Losses available to c/fwd:
96/97 onwards	£Nil
95/96 earlier	£6,200

I am completing an R40 Claim for Repayment, where do I enter interest paid by an authorised unit trust (AUT) or an open-ended investment company (OEIC)?

Although Box 3.1 is described as ‘Net interest paid by banks or building societies etc’ as well as bank or building society interest, this box should include net interest received from other deposit takers and net interest paid by authorised unit trusts and OEICs. The tax deducted from this interest should be reported in box 3.2 with the gross amount of interest entered into box 3.3. (Please note dividends from unit trusts should be reported in box 3.6).

What is the filing date for my self-assessment tax return?

There is a new, earlier, deadline for paper returns: 31st October 2008. A paper return filed after that date will be late, and will be subject to the late filing penalty rules.

There are only 2 exceptions to that deadline:

1. certain people are “excepted” from the 31st October 2008 deadline. If you are one of these people, you will have been notified of this by HMRC and your deadline will be 31st January 2009.
2. HMRC’s online systems cannot accept certain items or combinations of information. Where possible the TaxCalc program will advise you of this, but if you are in any doubt, TaxCalc support will be able to help.

Where you are prevented from online filing by one of these restrictions, you will be able to paper file and your deadline will be 31st January 2009.

The deadline for returns remains at 31st January 2009.
If you owe tax of less than £2,000 and want it to be collected through the following year's tax code, then it must be filed online by 30th December 2008.

Where do I report Foreign Earnings not taxable in the UK?

Where income is paid by a UK company but work is carried out abroad, the income should be reported on the employment pages of the tax return but this figure should then be reduced if any of this amount is taxable in the foreign country instead of the UK. In the 2007 return this was reported on the employment pages in box 1.31. This box in 2008 is now shown on the ‘Additional Information’ pages of the tax return, page 2 box 12 of the top section. If you are completing the return in the Simple Step mode you will need to tick the ‘Working abroad’ box on the Pay received screen. You may need HMRC Help Sheet HS211 to assist with completing this box.

What is a 'Golden Handshake?'

A golden handshake is a clause in an employment contract that provides the employee with a significant severance package, in the event that the executive loses his or her job.

How do I re-submit a return?

If, after making a successful submission, you need to make changes and file an amended return, simply make your corrections and then click on 'Check & Finish' (top middle). The number of amended returns that are allowed to be filed online is currently 9.

You will be taken to the screen "Check & Review your return". On this screen, click on the button 'Amended return' (Read the additional text!)
Then click 'Next Step'
Click 'File online'

On the 'File by internet results' you should have some text with the following section:

Successful response from HMRC at Date Time
HMRC has received the .....
IR mark was: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Etc.

Click on the 'Re-submit' button to return to the 'submission screen'
Click on 'Submit' to send the amended return.
The process will run the same as when you filed your original return.

Why can't I file my 2008 year end CT return online?

HMRC's online system has not been updated to accept CT600 returns with the year end after 31st March 2008. It is expected that this will happen at the end of October. A TaxCalc update will be released as soon as HMRC have implemented the changes. The current version of TaxCalc does calculate tax for the 2008 financial year using the published rates so you can file your return by post.

Working with ‘Old’ CT600 returns, (Viewing, modifying or importing).

Occasionally you may need to open CT600 returns made with earlier software.

In the first instance, attempt to open the file in TaxCalc 2008 using File > Open

If you wish to view a return prepared in TaxCalc 2007 you will need to have the final release of the software (which is 7.10.08). To check the version of TaxCalc you are running, click on Help > About TaxCalc. If required, update TaxCalc by visiting taxcalc.com and then logging in to your account and downloading TaxCalc 2007. After TaxCalc has been updated to version 7.10.08, File > Open will allow you to view the return.

To import or modify a CT600 prepared in TaxCalc 2006, you will need to open the return in TaxCalc 2007 first (see above!). Next the file format must be updated, this is done by resaving the file (File > Save). Finally, exit TaxCalc 2007 and Start TaxCalc 2008, you will now be able to view or modify the older file (File > Open) OR import the data into the next AP (File > Import 2007 data).

Accounting Periods: TaxCalc 2008 can now display the AP end date for your CT600 returns. From the ‘Homescreen’ click on the “All CT600” button, the AP end date will be displayed to the left of the UTR.

MAC users.

TaxCalc is not programmed to run on the Mac system. However, we do have many customers who run Windows emulation software enabling the use of TaxCalc on MAC OS. Although we have had positive feedback on this we do not provide support for the use of TaxCalc on non-Windows Operating Systems at this time.

For more information, please contact TaxCalc Support on 08707 66 99 25

What is a '1046' Authentication Error?

This error message can only relate to one of 3 things, your User ID, Password or UTR number. The first thing to do is check that you can log onto the HMRC website www.hmrc.gov.uk using the identical User ID and Password you are entering into the Taxcalc program. Then check your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) displayed on this page. Once you have established that you are still enabled for online filing then you should be able to submit successfully.

Please follow the steps below for a fail-safe method which will avoid any transcription errors:

Open Windows Notepad text editor (which can be found from the Windows 'Start' menu > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad)
Type your Gateway User ID, with NO spaces, on the first line and hit the return key. Do not put any spaces before or after
Type your Gateway Password and hit the return key making sure you have not put any spaces before or after
Go to the HMRC website www.hmrc.gov.uk and select the Self Assessment link under the ‘do it online’ heading
Click the 'Welcome to Online Services' link in the first paragraph
Copy and paste the User ID and Password from the Notepad document into the boxes on the HMRC website and click ‘Login’

If these details are not recognised, please follow the instructions on the HMRC website. If successful, you will see the page ‘At a glance’ and your UTR will be shown under your name at the top of the screen. Continue with the steps below:

Highlight this 10 digit number, copy and paste it onto the next line of the Notepad document
Open your return in TaxCalc and go to the page ‘Personal Details’ in SimpleStep or ‘Tax Details’ in HMRC Forms mode
Delete the entire contents of the UTR field and copy and paste the 10 digit number from the Notepad document
Click ‘Check & Finish’
Click ‘Next Step’
Click ‘File online’
Click ‘Re-submit’
Tick the box ‘Show password on entry?’ and answer ‘Yes’ to the pop up message
Delete the entire contents of the User ID field and copy and paste the first line of the Notepad document
Copy and paste the next line from the Notepad document into the Password box
Click ‘Submit’

If this fails with the same 1046 error then either you are not authorized to use the online filing service or there is a problem with your HMRC account and you will need to contact HMRC to resolve this issue. After speaking to them you may need to wait 24hours before filing again.

How do I licence TaxCalc 2008?

Step 1
After installing TaxCalc, a License TaxCalc box should appear so that you can license your program. Select ‘Next’ to move on to the next License Key Step

Step 2
If you have an internet connection, TaxCalc can find your licence key for you:
connect to our server to obtain the key and check the message in the Online Status box. (If you do not receive a 'successful' response, you may have firewall software that is preventing the connection so please see the firewalls topic on the FAQ's page.)
If successfully connected, the ‘Automatically via the Internet’ option will be selected. Click on ‘next’.

Step 3
Enter your username and password. You will have entered or received this at the time of registration (your username is usually your registered e-mail address).
Click ‘next’ and you should be notified of the successful registration of TaxCalc 2008.
Click on ‘finish’ to end the licensing process.

If you do NOT have an internet connection, please follow these steps instead:

Step 1
After installing TaxCalc, a License TaxCalc box should appear so that you can license your program. Select ‘Next’ to move on to the next License Key Step

Step 2
Select the ‘manually’ option and click ‘next’.

Step 3
Enter the licence key that was sent to you in the email confirming your order.
Click ‘next’ and you should be notified of the successful registration of TaxCalc 2008. Click on ‘finish’ to end the licensing process.

Where is my licence key?

Your licence key was emailed to you when you placed your order. You can also view your licence key online by logging in to our website taxcalc.com with your username and password. This will take you to your ‘My Products’ page where it is listed next to your product. See also the FAQ below 'How to enter a new licence key'

How to enter a new licence key

After you have upgraded your software, either from the website or through our sales team, you will need to re-license the software to activate the new features.

To do this automatically, please follow the steps below:

Click on ‘help’ in the top menu bar of the program and then click on ‘license’. When the grey box appears click on ‘enter new key’..
Click the ‘test’ button to check that your computer will allow you to connect to our server to obtain the key (If you do not receive a ‘successful’ response, you may have firewall software that is preventing the connection so please see the 'firewall' topic on the FAQ's page. This is on our website in the 'support' section)..
If successfully connected, the ‘automatically via the internet’ option will be selected. Click on ‘next’..
Enter your username and password. You will have entered or received this at the time of registration (your username is usually your registered e-mail address)..
Click ‘next’ and you should be notified of the successful registration of TaxCalc 2008 (you can check that your new features have been activated by clicking on 'View features').
Click on ‘finish’ to end the licensing process

To do this manually, please follow the steps below:

Click on ‘help’ in the top menu bar of the program and then click on ‘license’. When the grey box appears click on ‘enter new key’
Select the ‘manually’ option and click ‘next’
Click on ‘Clear’ and then enter the license key
Click ‘next’ and you should be notified of the successful license of TaxCalc 2008 (you can check that your new features have been activated by clicking on ‘View features’)
Click on ‘finish’ to end the licensing process

Where is my invoice?

Your invoice was emailed to you when you placed your order. You can also view/print your invoice by logging in to our website taxcalc.com with your username and password and clicking on ‘Account History’.

Is there an option in TaxCalc for the short Tax return?

HMRC does not permit reproduction of the SA200 short return directly. However it is simply a shorter version of the SA100 full return, and so HMRC is keen for you to file online using a SA100 tax return within TaxCalc. SimpleStep makes it very simple to do so.

A paper SA200 must be completed by hand and the filing deadline is 31st October 2008. If you file online using a TaxCalc SA100 return, the deadline is 31st January 2009.

You may not be able to file an SA200 short return – even if you have been sent one. There is a long list of exclusions on page STRG2 of the HMRC guide available here http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/worksheets/sa210.pdf. If you use TaxCalc, then you need not worry about those exclusions.

TaxCalc will also calculate any liability or repayment due, saving you time and ensuring you are aware of any liability due in January.

Can I safely uninstall old versions of TaxCalc?

You can uninstall old versions from your computer as this will NOT remove the data files themselves.

Please note the following:

Ensure your data files (which have suffix .s04 .s05 .s06, s07 etc) are backed up. You may wish to refer to this data at a later date and the files can be used to import some data into next year’s return.
You may uninstall earlier versions of the TaxCalc program using ‘Add Remove Programs’.
If you ever need to access the return data in the future, the old ‘versions’ of the software will be available as a download from your products page on our website.

How do I update TaxCalc 2008 on a computer that is not connected to the Internet?

If your computer is not connected to the internet you can login to the TaxCalc website from any other computer that is connected to the internet using your unique username and password.

This will take you to the ‘My Products’ page where you will always find the latest version for download. This can be downloaded and saved to your preferred medium (recordable CD or USB flash drive etc…) and then transferred to the computer that is not connected to the internet.

Once you have copied the file to the destination computer simply double click the file to begin the installation. All of your data will be retained and there will be no need to re-enter your Licence Key.

How do I print the summary pages?

To print any of the summaries in TaxCalc select ‘Print tax return’ from the file menu. Then make sure you have selected ‘Advanced’ printing preferences.

Now tick the box next to ‘Do you want to include Summaries?’ If you only want to print summaries, make sure the button next to ‘No Tax Return pages, just the options I choose below…’ is selected. Choose the summary(s) you wish to print from the drop down menu, click ‘Create Preview’ and then print from the document displayed.

How do I create a 64-8?

When you take on a new client, you will need to file a 64-8 Agent Authorisation with HMRC in order that you can handle the affairs of the client on their behalf.

TaxCalc 2008 can prepare this form for you, which you can file online or post to your local HMRC office.

To prepare a 64-8:

Create a new Tax Return File (SA or CT600 as appropriate) and complete the required information (see below)
Save the Tax Return File to your tax return folder.
Return to the Home Screen and locate the Tax Return File in your Client List and click on the tick box alongside it.
In the Tools box, click on Create 64-8 and follow the onscreen instructions.

Required information:

SA series (SA100, SA800, SA900)

Name
Address including Postcode
UTR
NINO

CT600

Company Name
Address including Postcode
UTR
CRN (Company Registration Number)

How do I check if I have the latest version?

To check you have the latest version of TaxCalc 2008, please click on ‘Settings’ in the top menu bar of the program, then ‘TaxCalc Update’ and ‘Run TaxCalc Update now’ whilst connected to the internet.

If there is a newer version of TaxCalc than the one you have, the program will give you the opportunity to automatically update. If you have the latest version, a box will tell you that this is the latest version of the current product.

How do I unlock my Return?

If all fields in TaxCalc are filled in yellow and have a no-entry symbol showing when you hover over them with the mouse, and data cannot be entered into them, it means that the return is locked. To unlock the return, go to ‘Options’ and remove the tick next to ‘Lock Return’.

How do I upgrade my Software? ... or... I receive a message: “The product you try to access is not available within your licence”

The reasons for this are either:

You need to purchase an upgrade that includes the type of return that you are trying to create.
You have exceeded your number of licences for the type of return that you are trying to print or file.

If you have not yet logged in, you can use the login area to the left. Log in and upgrade now.

If you do not have access to the internet, you can contact our sales team on 08707 669935

If you have already purchased the relevant upgrade, you may simply need to change the licence key (Go to the 'Help' menu and click on 'Licence' and then 'Enter New Key').

How do I buy TaxCalc for 2004 or earlier years?

Full working versions of TaxCalc 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001 products are available as a free download from our website.

These programs were produced before Vista was launched and have not been tested for compatibility. The software is available from the /older products page (Note for the 2004 version you only need the ‘setup’ file).

Internet Explorer Script Errors

TaxCalc utilises Microsoft Internet Explorer technology to display the Tax Return on your screen.

If your version of Internet Explorer is not up to date (Version 6 or later) it is possible that you could receive some errors when trying to view or navigate through your Tax Return.

If you have purchased TaxCalc on CD the latest version of Internet Explorer is supplied on the disc. (Click on ‘tools’ in the new window that opens after inserting the CD to install Internet Explorer from the TaxCalc 2008 disc)..
Customers that have bought a download version please make sure you have updated your Internet Explorer to the latest version from the Microsoft website..

Problems Printing

Adobe Reader

TaxCalc uses the Adobe PDF file standard as its printing output. This allows you to have more control over the printing options and also allows you to save your tax returns as PDF documents.

If you find you are having trouble printing, please make sure that you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.

If you have purchased a product on CD-ROM then Adobe Acrobat can be installed from the CD. Alternately you can download the suitable Adobe Reader product from www.adobe.com.

If your printing problems persist, an alternative method is to create and view the PDF outside of TaxCalc.

Go to the 'Settings' menu.
Click on 'Acrobat View Options'.
Click on 'In Acrobat (External)'.

Now when you next create a preview, a printable PDF will be loaded in an external Adobe Acrobat/Reader window.

NOTE:

TaxCalc uses the data in your tax return file to create the PDF. When you save the PDF, you are simply saving the exported data and NOT changing the content of the tax return file itself..
If you replace or remove the PDF file altogether, you will not affect the tax return file itself, or any of your data..
If you make any subsequent changes to your tax return you must create a new PDF for printing..

Firewalls

If new features are implemented throughout the year, we may release TaxCalc updates which you can download for free and install.

When you first open the program, TaxCalc is set to search for updates by default.

If you have firewall software or hardware, you may first be prompted to allow ‘TaxCalc.exe’ to access the internet.

Please click here for further guidance on firewalls.

You can turn off the update feature, change the interval or start an immediate update search from the ‘Settings’ menu ‘TaxCalc Update’ option..

Forgotten Password

If you do not know your password, please click on the Forgotten password? link to the left of this page. You should get an email response immediately.

In the event of a spam filter blocking you request, please send an email to support@taxcalc.com with ‘forgotten password’ in the subject field.

Keeping up to date