Despite everything, 10.7million people filed their self assessment tax returns by the initial 31st January deadline. And HMRC are grateful.
What have HMRC said about this figure?
In a press release on 1st February, HMRC’s Interim Director General for Customer Services, Karl Khan, said: “Thank you to the 10.7 million customers who have sent in their tax returns. We won’t send anyone a late filing penalty if they complete their tax return by 28 February. We know that many individuals and small businesses are finding it harder to pay this year, due to the pandemic. Anyone who can’t afford to pay their tax bill in full can set up a payment plan, once they’ve filed their return, to spread their tax bill into monthly instalments.”
This is an acknowledgement that HMRC understand that many taxpayers are struggling with both the paperwork and payment side of their tax affairs.
And in a blog dated 3rd February, HMRC said: “We know the pandemic has affected many agents and we would like to thank you for helping so many of our customers send in their return.”
So many tax professionals have been working from home to help their clients, under the same difficult circumstances as you. This acknowledgement of our part in the tax collection process is much appreciated.
What about those that missed the deadline?
Hopefully, the remaining 1.8 million people who missed the January deadline got their return submitted by the extended 28th February deadline. This means they avoided a late filing penalty.
Some more good news from HMRC.
If you still haven’t paid your self assessment tax bill, you can also avoid the 5% late payment penalty charge that is usually levied on 3rd March.
You need to sort out full payment or a Time to Pay instalment plan by midnight on 1st April. You’re still being charged interest, but you can avoid the fine by taking advantage of this new deadline extension.
If you’re not sure how much you owe, there’s a free calculator on GOV.UK to help you work from a personalised estimate.
How are the 2021 tax return figures looking?
Considering the immense pressure everyone’s under, we’ve all done quite well.
- 25% tax returns were filed by the 31st January deadline – 10,351,387
- 64% of those were filed online
- 74% of expected returns missed the deadline – 1,790,368
It’s too soon for figures regarding payment, especially with the payment deadline extended to 1st April. Get it done by then, and you won’t be hit with the 5% fine. Remember, it doesn’t have to be paid in full, just get a Time to Pay plan set up before the end of March.
