Income Tax Return Season – Let’s Get 2025 Completed Early! 

The Income tax return is one of those areas that many business owners (and individuals) feel that they broadly understand, in the sense that they 

• know a return has to be filed 
• that there are statutory deadlines, and 
• that at some point during the year, documentation will be requested and calculations of the tax due will be prepared.

However, with increased admin as your business grows, personal issues and family requirements not to mention holidays and Summertime – time invariably runs out AND we are looking at another tax deadline coming up fast !

AND the consequences of leaving everything until last minute and (very) close to the Revenue deadlines become uncomfortable for us all  . . .

Revenue’s Statutory Deadline in November!

Personal Income tax returns must be filed by 31st October (or in practice for most taxpayers now) on or about 14th November for online submissions.

And of course, Revenue’s deadline date naturally become the ‘mental anchor’ for most people, which makes sense given everyone is busy, and there are many other demands on attention in the earlier months of the year.

What this results in is a typical pattern where 

• documentation is gathered after the Summer is over, 
• then there are the invariable queries and questions that are raised on aspects of the documentation and omitted information
• a scrabble for those statements that you had a few months ago somewhere, and 
• then a mad rush to try and file the tax return (and make the appropriate tax payments) much too close to the deadline.

Why there is a better way  . . .

In its simplest form, your Income tax return may largely reflect a single salary and perhaps a small number of additional items, such as bank interest or some medical expenses.

However as your business grow, your personal tax situation also starts to become more diverse and complex, whether a mixture of 

• employment income
• dividends
• self-employment income
• rental income
• bank or investment income
• pension contributions, and 
• preliminary tax payments.

Each of these requires it’s own documentation, preparation, and checking and review which takes time and effort to get right – and rushing to do it all last minute is more than likely going to lead to errors . . . .

BUT starting the work on your Income tax return doesn’t mean needing to finalise the tax return in January. . . . . .

However it does simply mean beginning the process sooner and having more time to work through the queries and obtain the necessary documentation over time. 

In practice it also means that the documentation is closer to hand and not mislaid as may have happened in previous years, AND it is also much easier to answer these queries on what you did and why in September 2025 in February 2026, rather than in September 2026 – a world away from when you originally took that action!

It also means that you can focus 100% on the normal business issues and enjoy the Summer holidays knowing that your accountant will NOT be chasing you in the Autumn! 

What a relief! 

At SAKURA we aim to complete Income Tax returns by our own Deadline of 30th April!

At Sakura, we work to an internal target of having the majority of client income tax information substantially complete by 30 April following the end of the tax year.

Obviously this is NOT a filing deadline, or a Revenue requirement – however experience has told us that it eliminates the ‘last minute’,  the rush in those last few weeks and is better for both us and our clients.

By that point, we aim for 

• most core documentation to have been received
• initial reviews to have taken place
• queries to have been identified and communicated to our Clients, and 
• the bulk of the Income tax return to have been prepared in a draft format 

It also means that we have, and can, share what the tax liability for the year will be (including any relevant Preliminary tax amounts) at that point as well i.e. up to 6 months ahead of the payment deadline ! 

For our clients, once they get used to the new process and the early start with reminders and ‘follow ups’, actually it feels very different from the traditional model – BUT makes the difference when they have freedom in October and November when everyone else is busy and stressed.

So Why do we Do it !

Basically we want to avoid, both for ourselves, but also for our clients 

• Problems or delays in obtaining the key documentation 
• Issues trying to remember answers to key queries 
• Stress and time pressures
• Small details that are more likely to be missed 
• ‘Surprise’ tax liabilities or preliminary tax payments 

Last minute work doesn’t always mean that there will be errors – but it does increase the likelihood of them !

Finally it also means that we can instead have a conversation about the last year’s results in good time, plan ahead for the required tax payments, and also see where your business is now say, 4 months in – rather than 10 months in – when there is little that we can discuss at that point that will have any material impact on the current year !

The SAKURA Process for Income Tax Returns 

The process with our Clients tends to follow (broadly) this process:

• End of January/early February – Our Income Tax Return Checklist is issued (to enable you to ensure that all issues are identified and NOTHING is missed along the way)
• Mid February – you will have received our Guide to accessing the SAKURA Client Portal and completing the checklist 
• End of February – a reminder to complete the Income Tax Return Checklist 
• End of March – following receipt of documentation, we will prepare a list of queries and questions for review 
• End of March – additional reminders will be sent out to those Client that have not yet provided us with the relevant documentation (and checklist)
• End of April – we will forward a DRAFT of the Income tax return and an indicative € tax liability figure 
• End of October – the Income tax return will have already been finalised and submitted to Revenue (for over 3 or 4 months  . . .)

Final Thoughts 

The statutory deadlines for income tax returns are not changing, however we can change how we manage the process, so that it is simpler, easier and less stressful – with the benefit that we can use the time to discuss any current issues with you and/or manage tax payments much more smoothly etc,

If you would like to talk through how we can help you get your Income tax return prepared, reviewed and submitted earlier then feel free to contact us.

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