Last year over 11 million customers completed a self-assessment tax return. 10.7 million of those were completed on time with 758,707 waiting until the deadline day to file.
HMRC are encouraging Self-Assessment customers who will need to file a return to complete it as soon as possible and take some of the stress away from the busy holiday period.
There are of course always those who do not complete their Return within the deadline, but they do come up with some very amusing excuses (none of which were accepted):
- I spilt coffee on it
- I couldn’t file my return on time because my wife has been seeing aliens and won’t let me enter the house
- My business doesn’t really do anything
- My ex-wife left my tax return upstairs, but I suffer from vertigo and can’t go upstairs to retrieve it.
- I found my wife in the bath with my accountant
As amusing as some of the excuses above are, they serve as a great reminder to all businesses that deadline day is approaching, and you will be expected to file your return by the given date. If you feel that you will be unable to file your return on time due to exceptional circumstances, then you can apply for an extension, which must be requested by the deadline day.
New Penalty Regime
The government had hoped that the new penalty regime would be in place this year, however this has now been delayed until April 2021. The changes will mean that any late payment of tax would be subject to penalties 15 days after late payment.
If you are unable to pay by the deadline then you are able to make a Time to Pay arrangement (TTP) to 30 days after the due date. HMRC will use the date of contact when this is set up as the effective date for the purpose of late payment penalties.
For those who make a Time to Pay arrangement within 15 days of the due date, a penalty will not be charged. A half penalty will be charged between 16 and 30 days and after the 30 days a full penalty will be charged plus a further penalty which will accrue daily until a payment is made.
HMRC is hopeful that the new regime will make the penalty system simpler for when Making Tax Digital is fully implemented.
For at least the next 2 years the current penalty system will remain in place.
The deadline for online tax returns and paying any tax owed is 31 January 2019. A late submission could lead to a minimum penalty of £100, so what are you waiting for?!
If you would like any help or further advice regarding your tax return, then please get in touch for more details.
