Calculating the tax yourself wins you an extra four months to do so, since the deadline for submission goes back to 31 January 1998 But take care. Put on some soothing music in the background, have a drink to hand (as a reward for finishing it, not to steel you to begin) and approach the return like an exam paper - read it carefully, begin at the beginning and work through carefully. If it's a small amount of interest the Revenue will probably collect the tax through your tax code, but this new income may well trigger a return for you to complete.In any event, having got a return, where to begin? Firstly, it's an information- gathering exercise: you need to assemble things like P60s and P11Ds (these are the forms your employer gives you recording pay and tax for the year and benefits respectively). Ask the bank or building society for details of interest credited to your accounts, if these are not sent to you automatically.Dig out all your dividend counterfoils? If you have realised capital gains, make sure you have details of the sales and the cost of the assets And, of course, any other income you have.Now you can begin. But if you had a new source of income in 1996/97, you may need more supplementary pages - if so, contact your tax office now.Most people won't get a return at all If you're one of these lucky ones that isn't an end to it. You will have the basic eight-page return, plus various supplementary pages.

So, what are the points to bear in mind if the dream is not to become a nightmare? First of all, in the immortal words of Corporal Jones in Dad's Army: Don't panic Start by checking that the Revenue has sent all you need. So, are you one in 8 million? Have you been singled out by the fiscal lottery to get a winner's envelope? Yes, that blue envelope that you got this week is your personal prize! Open it quickly - and you'll find that it isn't the special prize draw you were hoping for, but YOUR VERY OWN self-assessment tax return, which the Inland Revenue has cunningly NOT put in a brown envelope this year Having opened it your dreams are already fading. They can claim the shares at any time although they have only 42 days from the official distribution date to put them into a PEP without incurring dealing charges.. But unless there is a dramatic collapse in share prices the general opinion is that they will make a good investment, especially as Norwich Union will be one of the 40 biggest public companies in the country and will join the FTSE 100 within a month of flotation.This means that institutional investors and tracker funds will need to hold Norwich Union shares, and as small investors will hold at least 70 per cent of the shares in issue after the float, institutions will need to buy heavily to boost their holdings.Small investors who want to keep their shares will have 42 days from receipt of their shares to put them into a PEP, where they will be exempt from income tax on the dividends and any possible capital gains tax on future disposals.At least a dozen fund managers have by now said they will accept windfall shares into a general PEP, either on their own or alongside other shares.The downside is, of course, that no one can have more than one general PEP each year and anyone who has started making contributions to a general PEP since 5 April will not by definition be able to open another one until April 1998.Norwich Union members who lose their general PEP entitlement in this way, and any who want to buy extra shares should consider putting them into a single company PEP. If it is approved Norwich Union would issue a prospectus in May and become a public company in June. Norwich Union clearly hopes as many as possible of its members will keep the free shares they will receive and even add to them by buying extra shares at a discount in the public offer which follows the free issue.The more shares the public takes up, the fewer will be available for institutions and the scarcer and more valuable the shares will become.Members will be able to sell their free shares immediately for cash if they want to. If they miss the postal deadline they can vote at the EGM at the London Arena next Friday. The 2.9 million members of Norwich Union have until 11am next Thursday to vote by post on whether they want the Norwich Union to convert into a public company and scatter pounds 4bn worth of free shares to members.

Both regular premium and single premium insurance arrangements are widely available.Paul Gauntlett can be contacted at IFA Moors, Marr Bradley on 01908-66228.. This involves leaving some assets on the first death to beneficiaries other than the surviving spouse.They may well feel uncomfortable with this since this course of action could leave the surviving spouse short of income. This is entirely understandable but not very tax-efficient as it will result in a tax liability on the last death which could be avoided if use is made of the "nil-rate band" of IHT on each death. They should however bear in mind that CGT is deferred rather than avoided.Consideration ought to be given to the inheritance tax (IHT) implications of the current wills, which are wholly in favour of each other. This qualifies under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) for income tax relief at 20 per cent and they can also elect to defer part of their C&G capital gain by reinvesting under this EIS.Such an investment would normally be considered unduly risky for a couple like the Agerbaks but they have taken comfort from Baywind's 15-year contract under the Government's non-fossil fuel obligation (NFFO).