An Individual Tax Return (ITR) in BrightTax is the task used to prepare and submit a Self Assessment return to HMRC. Each tax year requires a separate ITR task. This article covers how to create, open, and set up a new ITR.

• The client must already exist in BrightTax as an Individual. See Creating Your First Client if you have not done this yet.
• The client's UTR number must be recorded on their client record before you can submit — you can create the task without it, but add it before filing.
• Your HMRC filing credentials must be configured in System Settings before submission.

1. From the Dashboard, click the Create Task button.
2. Select Individual Tax Return from the task type list.
3. Select the Tax Year from the dropdown.
4. Search for and select the client.
5. Click Create Task to confirm.
6. Click Open Tax Return to open the ITR.

If an ITR already exists for the same client from the previous tax year, BrightTax will ask whether you want to roll forward the data from that return. This pre-populates the new return with last year's figures as a starting point.

• Click OK to roll forward last year's data into the new return.
• Click Cancel to start the new return with a blank slate.

The ITR opens in read-only mode by default. Switch to Edit mode using the toggle in the bottom-left corner of the screen before making any changes.

The ITR has four tabs along the top:

• Summary — client details, supplementary pages, and task actions.
• SA100 — the core tax return pages covering income and reliefs.
• SA110 — the tax calculation and liability summary.
• Submission History — a record of all submissions made for this return.

I cannot find my client when creating the task

• Check that the client has been created as an Individual in BrightTax — the task creation search only returns clients of the appropriate type.
• Check the Individual/Organisation toggle in the Client List to confirm the client record exists.

The Open Tax Return button is not appearing

• Check that the task was created successfully — it should appear in the Task List with a Not Started status.
• Click the eye icon in the Task List to open the task summary, then select Open Tax Return from there.

Q: Can I create more than one ITR for the same client for the same tax year?

A: No — BrightTax prevents duplicate ITRs for the same client and tax year. If you need to start over, discard and delete the existing task first.

Q: Can I change the tax year after creating the task?

A: No. The tax year is set at the point of task creation and cannot be changed afterwards. If you selected the wrong year, discard and delete the task and create a new one.

Q: What happens if I close the ITR before saving?

A: Any unsaved changes will be lost. Always click Save before closing a page or navigating away.