Following pressure from The Chartered Institute of Taxation and other bodies, we are pleased to confirm that H M Revenue and Customs SA online software has been upgraded to enable online attachments to be sent with tax returns.
Details of the new feature can be found at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/attachments.htm. The white space should still be used where possible, but, in the event that the white space is insufficient or additional supporting documentation is required, the online Self Assessment attachments feature can now be used. The feature was added on 1 November 2006, although, following the upgrade, access to the system has been limited.
To avoid overloading the system, the feature should ideally not be used to send documents that would not normally be sent any other way.
The details page on the HMRC website sets out the technical details, including limits to the size and type of files which can be sent. The file must be a PDF file, created by use of a scanner or by using software such as Adobe Acrobat Writer. The size of the file, including all attachments, must not exceed 5Mb.
HMRC have stressed that they will not routinely review attachments. Therefore, attachments should not include any information that is not directly related to the return.
Should any members encounter any difficulties in using this new feature, we would be grateful if they could e-mail Tina Riches with the words 'SA Online software' in the title at technical@tax.org.uk with the details, so that we can take these up through the Working Together e-group.
Technical Department
020 7235 9381
