Readers who have income they are required to disclose for the tax year 2017-18, and who are not registered for self-assessment, need to apply quickly. The deadline to register for 2017-18 self-assessment is 5 October 2018.

You are required to register if:

• your income from self-employment was more than £1,000 – this is your ‘trading allowance’,
• you got more than £2,500 from renting out property- contact the help line if it was between £1,000 and £2,500,
• you got more than £2,500 in other untaxed income, for example from tips or commission,
• your income from savings or investments was £10,000 or more before tax – this includes money from bare trusts or interest in possession trusts,
• your income from dividends from shares was £10,000 or more before tax – tell HMRC if it was over your dividends allowance,
• you made profits from selling things like shares, a second home or other chargeable assetsand need to pay Capital Gains Tax,
• you were a company director – unless it was for a non-profit organisation (such as a charity) and you did not get any pay or benefits, like a company car,
• your income (or your partner’s) was over £50,000 and one of you claimed Child Benefit,
• you had income from abroad that you needed to pay tax on,
• you lived abroad and had a UK income,
• your taxable income was over £100,000,
• you were a trustee of a trust or registered pension scheme,
• you had a P800 from HMRC saying you did not pay enough taxlast year – and you did not pay what you owe through your tax code or with a voluntary payment,
• your State Pension was more than your Personal Allowance and was your only source of income – unless you started getting your pension on or after 6 April 2016.

You also need to send a tax return if you:

• need to prove you’re self-employed, for example to claim Tax-Free Childcare or claim Maternity Allowance,
• want to make voluntary Class 2 National Insurance payments to help you qualify for

Certain other people may need to send a return (for example religious ministers or Lloyd’s underwriters) – you can check whether you need to. You will not usually need to send a return if your only income is from your wages or pension.