The deadline for a self assessment tax return to be submitted for the 21/22 tax year was 31 January 2023.
HMRC have announced that a record 97.3% of tax return filers submitted their returns on time before the deadline.
11,733,465 self assessment tax returns were received by HMRC on time with 861,085 filing online on the last day of January.
In the last hour of the 31 January 36,767 people submitted their tax return which meant they just avoided the deadline and a late filing penalty.
HMRC received 385,296 paper tax returns on time which works out at about 3.4% of all tax returns expected.
The tax office expected just over 12 million tax returns to be received meaning around 600,000 people missed the tax return deadline and are facing a late penalty.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:
“Thank you to the millions of customers and agents who got their tax returns in on time. Customers who have yet to file, and who are concerned that they will not be able to pay in full, may be able to spread the cost of what they owe with a payment plan”.
HMRC Time to Pay for Self Assessment
If you have not submitted your 21/22 tax return because you worried about not being able to pay your tax bill HMRC are there to help.
HMRC in many cases can set up a time to pay arrangement which lets you spread the cost of your tax bill over an agreed period of time.
This is a sensible option and the tax office want to help you if they can but they need you to contact them as soon as possible.
It’s important to submit your tax return as soon as you can after the 31 January to minimise the risk of more late filing and payment penalties.
I owe HMRC but can’t afford to pay
The 31 January is the deadline for paying tax that you owe for the 21/22 tax year as well so if you have submitted your tax return on time but can’t afford to pay what you owe you should get in touch with HMRC to discuss a time to pay arrangement.
The tax office automatically charges late payment penalties and interest on the amount of tax you owe.
If you can come to a time to pay arrangement the late payment penalties and interest can be kept to a minimum and even cancelled.
Tell HMRC if you don’t need to complete a tax return
Sometimes HMRC needs to be told about a change in circumstances so they can update your self assessment record.
If you have been asked to complete a 21/22 tax return and you don’t think you should have to complete it you should tell HMRC so they can cancel it and any late filing penalties.
When you contact HMRC they will review your record and cancel your 21/22 tax return if you don’t meet self assessment criteria for that tax year.
If you don’t tell HMRC the system will continue to expect a tax return and late penalties can increase over time. You can find contact details for HMRC here.
HMRC tax return penalties
HMRC tax return penalties are automatically generated with an initial £100 if you miss the 31 January 2023 deadline.
The first late penalty of £100 applies even if you don’t owe HMRC tax.
Further late penalties are issued at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months and there are additional penalties if you owe HMRC tax.
You can find out more here about the self assessment late filing penalties and how to appeal if you receive one.
