The Lemon Fool

Hi, I need to get a quick estimate of my income tax for this year, to work out how much gift aid I can claim.
Can you point me in the direction of a calculator that includes interest and dividends as well as earnings?
Thanks

I see your query has not been answered. Unfortunately I can't answer your query, though I too would find something like this useful. Once upon a time it would have been simple to answer, for instance by using the following link:

Age UK

But, as you can see, this no longer applies! Perhaps as suggested in the above link, you could use HMRC's Tax Estimate Calculator or better still HMRC's own SA software, without actually submitting the return until ready to do so. It can be continually altered and entries edited without submitting a return.

Other than that there are commercial packages available to do the job, though these have to be purchased year by year AFAIK. Other people know about these and I have seen them mentioned elsewhere in this BB.

Thanks Xfool. I will see what I can find. I have a feeling though I can’t access the self assessment forms online because my accountant does this for me and is registered as my agent. (I could ask them to make an estimate, but I thought that would be a waste of money. It may yet be what I end up doing!)

You can use SA2000 and it costs nothing unless you use it to submit a return

http://www.sa2000.co.uk/trol.htm

Isn't that fairly simple to achieve in Excel?

(Total Interest - Interest Relief)
+
(Total Dividends - Dividend Relief)
+
Total Income
-
(Personal Allowance + Basic Rate Band)
=
Amount of Income in Higher Rate Band

MikeyWorld wrote:Isn't that fairly simple to achieve in Excel?

(Total Interest - Interest Relief)
+
(Total Dividends - Dividend Relief)
+
Total Income
-
(Personal Allowance + Basic Rate Band)
=
Amount of Income in Higher Rate Band

If only it were so simple.

For example, the "Dividend Allowance" is not an allowance, as against the Personal Allowance which is an allowance! Despite the name, the "Dividend Allowance" is a Zero% rate of Income Tax that is applied to the first £2,000 (2018-19) of taxable dividend income.

We hold insufficient detail of the OP's income split/size to comment further.

As for http://www.sa2000.co.uk/trol.htm, I prefer not to enter personal numbers (even if using an InPrivate Window) on a website that is said not to be encrypted nor can I see that it covers 2018-19.


The Six Nations beckons ...

PinkDalek wrote:As for http://www.sa2000.co.uk/trol.htm, I prefer not to enter personal numbers (even if using an InPrivate Window) on a website that is said not to be encrypted nor can I see that it covers 2018-19.

I had a look and it is available as a downloadable spreadsheet. Different ones available for each tax year.

XFool wrote:

PinkDalek wrote:As for http://www.sa2000.co.uk/trol.htm, I prefer not to enter personal numbers (even if using an InPrivate Window) on a website that is said not to be encrypted nor can I see that it covers 2018-19.

I had a look and it is available as a downloadable spreadsheet. Different ones available for each tax year.

2018-19 is available? Yes or no?

PinkDalek wrote:2018-19 is available? Yes or no?

Doesn't seem so on the site. Presumably released after the end of the tax year, no?

Going back to the OP, I'm not sure what is meant by: "...how much gift aid I can claim". Does this imply how best to assign gift aid payments depending on tax situation in year? Something I am unclear about. I claimed all my gift aid payments for the year on my recently completed SA but, as a BR tax payer in that year they will presumably have no effect.

Yes, I want to estimate my income tax for this year, to make sure I don’t claim too much gift aid. At basic rate, claiming gift aid means charities can reclaim the tax you have paid but there is no impact on your tax bill. If you claim gift aid in excess of the tax you have paid, then you will incur a penalty equivalent to the tax claimed back by the charity.

I’m making large donations this year, in excess of my tax liability, so I need to know how much I can gift aid.

If by any chance you have a CGT liability for this tax year, that can also be used to frank the gift aided payment(s).

Really? Do you have a link?
I can always make a CGT liability...

Jabd2001 wrote:Really? Do you have a link?
I can always make a CGT liability...

Here's a random link at HMRC that I have to hand:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... d-donation

I'm on a mobile this moment, so can't easily search for the Tax Return pages etc, but that covers it.