What are the penalties for a late CIS tax return?

It’s always best to submit your tax return before the deadline but sometimes this isn’t possible for lots of different reasons.

HMRC will automatically penalise you if your CIS tax return is submitted after the deadline.
After one day of being late you will be sent a £100 penalty with that doubling at two months late.

From three months late (in addition to the previous penalties) a daily penalty £10 per day for up to 90 days is issued up to a maximum of £900.

At 6 months and then 12 months late there is a further penalty of £300 or 5% of the tax due if that is higher.

You can estimate your self assessment penalties by using HMRC’s estimate your penalty online tool.

Can I appeal against any late CIS tax return penalties?

You are entitled to make a self assessment late penalty appeal. For an appeal to be acceptable by HMRC you will need a reasonable excuse for example illness. It can take many weeks for an appeal to be reviewed and you may have to reply to HMRC questions as part of the process.

An appeal can only be made after your CIS tax return is submitted to and logged as received by HMRC.

Any CIS tax rebate you are owed will usually be used to pay back any late penalties. If there is any tax owed back to you after the late penalties have been paid this will then be refunded to you.

If you have already paid late penalties and your late penalty appeal is successful the money already paid to HMRC will be refunded after the late penalty appeal is completed.