HMRC to fine 890,000 people for missing self-assessment deadline
HM Revenue and Customs has said that as many as 890,000 people are facing fines for missing the deadline for submitting self-assessment returns.
People who missed the deadline, which was midnight on 31 January, will be £100 out of pocket and even more if they fail to submit a self-assessment form over the course of this year.
On 30 and 31st January HMRC received a flood of 980,000 returns as people sought to beat the deadline and avoid the fine. In total, 10.2m tax returns were submitted to HMRC. This year also saw the largest ever number of Self Assessments sent online.
Between 1:00pm and 2:00pm on 30 January the volume of returns received reached 830 a minute. HMRC’s director general of Personal Tax, Ruth Owen, commented:
Missing the tax return deadline results in an automatic £100 late-filing penalty. There are further late-filing penalties after three, six and 12 months. People with a genuine reason for not filing should contact HMRC to ensure they do not incur more penalties.
If citizens fail to hand to pay the fine in a timely manner after three months the charge increases by £10, up to a limit of £900. After six months, people will be hit with either a five per cent tax on the money due or £300.