HMRC confirms more than one million people face £100 tax fine
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced that more than 11.5 million people filed their Self-Assessment tax return on time, but an estimated 1.1m missed the deadline last week. Some 11,509,810 returns were received by midnight on January 31, with those who missed the deadline now facing a £100 penalty fine.
HMRC also said in total, 732,498 people filed their return at the last kick and is now urging anyone who has missed the deadline to file their Self Assessment as soon as possible and pay any tax owed. Those who cannot pay their tax bill in full may be able to set up a ‘time to pay’ arrangement.
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Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director-general for customer services, said: “I’m urging anyone who missed the deadline to submit their return as soon as possible to avoid any further penalties.”
The penalties for late tax returns are:
an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time
after 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900
after 6 months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater
after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater
There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5 per cent of the tax unpaid at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months. If tax remains unpaid after the deadline, interest will also be charged on the amount owed, in addition to the penalties above.
This year’s figure is down on the number of returns received before the deadline last year. Some 11,581,962 returns were received for the 2022-2023 tax year by January 31, 2024.
Charlene Young, a pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, said: “HMRC estimates that 1.1 million people failed to file by the deadline risking £100 late filing penalties, a potential windfall for the taxman of £110 million.”
She added: “After Barclays suffered a systems-wide outage on Friday January 31, some taxpayers who held on to their cash until the last minute or were waiting for payday could have found they were unable to send money.
“HMRC is said to be working with Barclays and reassured those genuinely affected will be able to appeal any late payment fines through the usual channels.”
Who needs to file a Self Assessment?
Taxpayers may need to complete a tax return, even if they pay taxes through PAYE, for example, if they:
are self-employed and have earned gross income over £1,000
are self-employed and earned up to £1,000 and wish to pay Class 2 NICs voluntarily to protect their entitlement to State Pension and certain benefits
are a partner in a business partnership
had a total taxable income of more than £150,000
have received any untaxed income including pension income over £2,500
received income over £1,000 from trading or providing services online
have to pay the High Income Child Benefit charge
received interest from banks and building societies or investments (more than £10,000)
received rental or letting income from UK land and property
If someone regularly sells goods or provides services through an online platform, they may need to pay tax on their income.
People can find out more about selling online and paying taxes on GOV.UK by searching ‘online platform income’ or by downloading the HMRC app. The guidance will help them decide if their activity should be treated as a trade and if they need to complete a Self Assessment tax return.
