STOP PRESS: The remittance basis is abolished from 6 April 2025, although this only applies to foreign income and gains arising on or after that date. The remittance basis rules still apply to unremitted income and gains arising before that date but remitted later. The legislation is included in FA 2025. For more details, see the Abolition of the remittance basis from 2025/26 guidance note.

The short tax return was introduced in April 2005 with the aim of reducing the compliance burden for taxpayers with simple tax affairs.

The short tax return (form SA200) is a four-page document that covers the most common sources of income (employment, self-employment, pensions, investment income, UK property) as well as common reliefs (pension contributions, gift aid, personal allowances). Capital gains and losses are reported on the usual capital gains summary supplementary pages and submitted with the short tax return.

There is no facility on the short return to calculate the tax due, although a simple guide is included for taxpayers who want to make a rough calculation of the tax