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As well as changes to the form itself, the date by which it needs to be filed has also been altered. The deadline for the online form is now 31 January 2009, while the date for the paper form has been moved forward to 31 October 2008. A £100 penalty is payable if these dates are missed.

The new form has been designed following a two-year pilot involving 7000 self-assessment tax payers and has, according to the Revenue, “fewer questions, simpler language and an improved layout”.

Changes to the paper form include a short self-employment page, comprising of a two-page form with fewer boxes to complete for small, straightforward businesses with an annual turnover below £64,000.

The “three-line account” threshold – the limit for completing simpler, abbreviated accounts information has been doubled to £30,000. A new page for additional information has been created to house questions on less common types of income and reliefs, which are rarely applicable to the majority of respondents.

The form had largely remained unchanged up until now from its launch in April 1997.

For more information visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa or call the self-assessment helpline on 0845 9000 444, which is open seven days a week between 8.00am and 8.00pm.