Your tax return, in plain English.
Do your own Self Assessment return with Apona. It turns HMRC's forms into simple questions, one step at a time, and works out your tax using HMRC's own rules. Accountants use it too, for all their clients' returns.
Apona is free while it's in beta.
Your job at Riverside Dental · Question 1 of 6
How much were you paid by this employer between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, before tax?
You'll find it on your P60. If you left during the year, it's on your P45.
Doing your own tax return
No accountant needed. Apona walks you through your return and explains each step as you go.
- Only the questions that apply to youTell Apona about your year: a job, a pension, rental income, self-employment. It leaves out everything else.
- A short guide on every pageEach guide explains what HMRC is asking for and where to find the figure.
- See your tax bill before you fileApona works out what you owe, or what you're due back, and shows how it got there.
- Help when you want itStuck? Share your return with an accountancy firm that uses Apona, and they'll pick up where you left off.
How a return gets done
The same four steps for every return, whether it's a single job or a mix of rental income, self-employment and capital gains.
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Answer the questions
Fill in plain-English questions. Apona only asks for the pages that apply, and short guides explain each one.
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Check the tax
Apona works out the tax and National Insurance using HMRC's published calculation rules, and shows how it got there.
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Approve it
Look over the finished return and approve it. If an accountant prepared it, you approve it online, or give your approval in person or by email. The return then locks.
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File with HMRC
Send the return to HMRC straight from Apona and keep a PDF of exactly what was filed. Online filing opens once HMRC has finished recognising Apona.
Built for accountancy practices
Run your clients, your team and your deadlines in one place, under your own name.
- Clients and their returnsPeople and businesses, each with a short client code, linked partnerships and companies, and every year's return in one record.
- Your teamInvite staff as admins, preparers or reviewers, with two-step sign-in for everyone.
- A client portal in your nameClients sign in to answer their questions, upload documents and approve their return, all under your own logo and colours.
- Information requestsSend clients a list of what you need, and see what's come back at a glance.
- Deadlines, tasks and email chasers Practice add-onKey dates from Companies House and your clients' year ends, task boards for each type of work, and reminder emails sent from your own Microsoft 365 or Google mailbox.
Four modules, one place
Self Assessment comes first. Everything else builds on the same client records and the same plain-English way of working.
Personal
- Self Assessment tax returns In beta now
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Coming later
Company
- Accounts Coming later
- Company tax returns Coming later
- Payroll Coming later
Accountants
- Client records and your team In beta now
- Client portal in your name In beta now
Practice
Add-on for accountants- Deadlines, tasks and workflows In beta now
- Client emails and chasers In beta now
- Companies House look-ups In beta now
Looking after your data
Tax records are some of the most personal information there is. Here's how Apona protects them.
Hosted in London
Apona and its database run in a London data centre.
Encrypted
Everything travels over an encrypted connection. Tax references, National Insurance numbers and mailbox sign-ins are encrypted again in the database.
Two-step sign-in
Every account uses a code from an authenticator app as well as a password.
Signed out when idle
After 30 minutes without activity you're signed out, with a warning first.
Activity log
Every change to a client or a return is recorded: who, what and when.
No advertising, ever
We never sell your data or use it for adverts. Read our privacy policy.
Free while Apona is in beta
Create an account to try it with your own return or your practice's clients. Questions first? Email [email protected].