Submitting SA800 partnership tax return to HMRC

[MarmiteMayhem]

Hi
Need to submit SA800 (partnership tax return) to HMRC for a small and simple husband & wife partnership.
After registering the partnership online I find out I can't submit the SA800 online I have to "pay" for some software to do it.
I am not going to unless I have to as the business is very small and very simple and really isn't worthy of more than a few boxes. So paying isn't really the way forward. They tell me on the phone there may be free software but they aren't allowed to tell me what, they simply say check the approved list and I do and each is a cost.

Anyway - question is - is there any free software?

If not - assume I can still file the old-way (paper - lol!) ?

Thanks

[gouldie0]

To my knowledge, i don't know of a free software for filing partnership returns. However many of them are cheap enough and don't cost to much to worry about paying for them.

Regarding filing a paper return, then i would ask have you filed a return online previously?

Kind Regards

Neil

[Jaykay]

Do the partnership return on paper, make the tax office do some work!

[MarmiteMayhem]

Cheers.
Only filled in personal tax returns on line - first year of business.
I will begrudge spending any money as we're due rebates so I'm not giving them anything back lol!

Paper it is then....

CHeers

[Ray Coman]

Just in case you decide against the DIY route, many accountants use software that can prepare electronic partnership returns and update details for the relevant part of the partner's tax returns. An accountant will charge, although by purchasing licenses in bulk would probably save you on buying the software yourself.

[Duckhouse Expenses]

Yes, it's a bit of a con isn't it? The IR says it wants us to submit our returns online and then charges us for the privilege. I too am in a small partnership with my partner (no space on the tax return again for those of us who are not married yet are half of a couple. I've been with her for 25 years this year so I'm certainly not 'single'). I've already submitted the information that is requested on the partnership form. I've now spent £14 on Andica because the sales photos looked like the software might be less of a mess than the badly designed codswallop I used last year. 'Buy Now' it said. 'Pay Now' is what they meant. After downloading (twice, the first file was corrupt) I was then confronted with the need to email a text file to the company so they could email a file to me that would contain an 'activation key' that I then enter into a long box so I can finally use this thing that said 'Buy Now'. Bah! I read that there's at least a three-hour wait according to a box that appeared once I'd paid, though that's during working hours and it's Friday night. Does this mean they complete the sale on Moday? They meant 'Buy over the next few days' I think. 'Now' was a lie with brass knobs on.

And Andica say they won't honour any refunds. Tosh. I have a 7-day colling-off period. At least I used to. Does that not apply when buying off premium citizens (politicians, police, bankers, arms dealers, those working with/for the government) anymore? Is it just for us tertiary citizens?

I'll be submitting on paper next year.

[Ray Coman]

In fairness to Andica, I do not think that this is a shortcoming of the software. It will take a few days to register online with HMRC and get an activation code. As far as I am aware, HMRC use second class post. Use the paper method by all means, but the filing deadline is earlier.

[AnnaF]

Like Ray, I have to say I think Andica is good software to use - at £14 it is not expensive and you can claim it as an expense to your business.
AnnaF

[AnnaF]

Duckhouse - I don't understand your frustration with Andica because I have been using for years and found them good. I bought my 2010 software last Sunday and emailed my serial key for the activation key on the same day and got it within 45 minutes. I was done and dusted in one hour - that is filled in form with partnership details and accounts and submitted online to HMRC.

[Duckhouse Expenses]

Okay. I confess I was a bit miffed when I posted before. A post-tax rant that couldn't be contained. Apologies for any irking caused.

The activation key was with us on Saturday morning and we have sucessfully completed our SA800 return. Andica was easier to use and better designed than the £10 software I used last year.

The above paragraph is the positive bit. My primary grumble is not with Andica but with the process that I have just been compelled to undertake: I have not submitted any new information. Even the partnership number is entered on my personal return. I don't like being forced to pay to submit info that I've already submitted for free.

Software-wise, my risk of a busted bloodvessel increased considerably when I read that I needed to enter a password and username which were to be found in the 80-page pdf 'manual'. They were both 'admin'. What a tedious task. I was given the option of installing the software for a single user, which I chose. I received an error. Changing my 'choice' to the advised 'any user' solved this. Finally I could enter the figures I've already given IR, but when I clicked submit I received three error messages (all the same, about not receiving a download). I switched off my firewalls to no avail. I switched from the lovely and relatively safe Firefox to the bug-prone IE (had to be made default), created permissions for the browser to accept the relevant site, and finally managed to send the thing.

I'm smiling now but it wasn't a smooth and sophisticated process. When I think of the money that such software must generate, I can't help but hear the ex-teacher in me saying, 'Could have done better.'

[bungleina]

:mad: Been trying for 3 days to submit my return via Andica software, all i'm getting back is gateway authentication failure. I can log in direct to hmrc site so would suggest thats ok and its something to do with either my pc set up or andica software. Any suggestions anybody?
Its looking like its going to be an expensive mistake on my birthday.