Of the 11.4 million taxpayers obliged to file a self assessment tax return, 746,000 people completely missed the deadline. That’s at least £100 financial penalty for each one.
When was the self assessment tax return deadline?
The deadline for filing your 2017-18 self assessment tax return online was midnight on 31st January 2019. It is usually self employed taxpayers and those with more than one job, or income stream, that need to use this process of paying income tax. To file the same year’s self assessment tax return on paper, the deadline was earlier, by midnight of 31st October 2018.
How many people are fined for being late?
The number of people filing late has actually hit its lowest ever figure, 6.5% of the total expected. This is great news all round. That’s a half a percent reduction on last year’s. And an impressive 10.7 million people that submitted their tax return on time (the highest number on record).
As reported by the BBC, the Director General for customer services at HMRC, Angela MacDonald, said: “We want the number missing the deadline to be zero, and we will continue to adapt the process to make it easier and simpler for all our customers until every return is in on time and without avoidable errors. If you’re one of the small number that missed the deadline, please submit your return now to avoid further penalties. We really don’t want penalties, we just want tax returns.”
Despite the potential windfall from collecting fines, HMRC really do prefer just to smoothly administer the self assessment process. The whole financial penalty section is an additional piece of work that actually shouldn’t be necessary, if everyone provided HMRC with their information at the correct time.
How does the SA fine system work?
There is an immediate £100 fine for missing the self assessment tax return filing date. If you fail to submit your tax return after a further three months, then you can be charged £10 per day until you get your form in. The maximum fine at this point is £900. The same charges are then added up to six months and twelve months after the deadline. Remember that these are cumulative. You start with £100, then each other step of fines is added on top until you submit your tax return.
This is the current fine process, but discussions are underway to try and change it to a points based system. Some accountants have said that they think some taxpayers may have missed the deadline because they think the new process is already being used. But the new proposals are not yet finalised and the current system stands.
It’s worth noting that HMRC can cancel late penalties if you have a reasonable excuse. An appeal must be made in writing but only after the late tax return has been submitted and received by HMRC.
If you are one of those who have missed the 2017-18 self assessment tax return deadline, do not ignore the situation. Get it done as soon as possible to minimise the total fine you will have to pay. And get in touch with HMRC to explain your position and see what assistance they can give you.
