Tell your accountant exactly which transaction is wrong and correct the digital records. HMRC’s next step depends on whether further updates or the annual return have already been sent. Avoid filing a duplicate or changing several copies of the records independently.
Send one clear description of the error
Include the date, amount, business, record and supporting document. Say whether the issue is missing income, a duplicate, an expense in the wrong category or private spending included by mistake.
For example: “The £240 payment on 12 September was personal, but it appears in business expenses. Here is the receipt and bank reference. Please check the records and whether any filing needs changing.”
| Where you are | What to do |
|---|---|
| More updates remain in the year | Correct the digital records promptly. The next cumulative update includes the correction. |
| Fourth update sent; annual return not filed | Correct the records and resend the fourth update, or adjust the category total in software and reflect that change in the digital records. Agree the route with your agent. |
| Annual return already submitted | Use compatible software to amend the return; the normal window is 12 months from its submission deadline. Check the relevant route if that window has closed. |
Follow HMRC’s digital-record correction guidance and its annual-return amendment guidance. Keep the original evidence and correction explanation. The calculator illustrates totals; it does not send a correction.
Confirm the work before any extra fee
If reviewing earlier records is outside the package, ask what work is proposed and agree the price first. Payment for a correction is not proof that HMRC’s figures have changed. Ask for confirmation of the actual correction or submission.
If an annual return has already been filed
Raise the issue promptly and use the relevant amendment route. Changing a local spreadsheet alone does not change a filed return. See amending a Self Assessment return for the ordinary amendment window, and give your accountant the exact year and filing history.
A duplicate receipt discovered after filing
Illustrative example.
Suppose a first update included the same £200 business receipt twice. At the next update, the unreconciled records would show £7,000 of year-to-date expenses. Correcting the duplicate reduces those records to £6,800, assuming nothing else changes. Keep the receipt and an explanation of the removal.
This is a bookkeeping correction example, not a tax adjustment or instruction to amend an annual return. The filing action depends on the stage of the year and what has already been submitted. After the final quarterly update or annual return, check the applicable correction route rather than assuming a later routine update will resolve it.
| Check | Practical action |
|---|---|
| Duplicate record | Identify the two entries and the one underlying receipt. |
| Corrected records | Remove the duplication without losing the evidence trail. |
| Filing stage | Check whether a further update or a different correction process is needed. |
Should I delete the supporting receipt?
No. Keep evidence of the genuine cost and the reason a duplicate record was removed.
What if the annual return is already submitted?
Tell the accountant which return was filed and when. An annual-return correction is a separate procedural check.
Download a checklist for this guide
- Business and period affected
- Original entry references
- Supporting evidence
- Correction and reason
- What has already been submitted and next action