Penalties for late filing of self assessment tax returns

Don't pay the penalty for late self assessment tax returns Alexander accountants Burton

Taxpayers that haven’t yet submitted their 2014-15 self assessment tax return will have now been charged an automatic penalty of £100 for late submission.  This penalty applied from 1st February 2016. It would have been charged even if no tax was due or the tax that was due was paid on time.

However, taxpayers who were meant to file online by 31st January 2016, and have still not filed their 2014-15 return, are reminded that they will face much higher penalties. From 1st May 2016 a daily penalty of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900 (90 days) can be charged.

There are further penalties that apply if the return is still outstanding for more than 6 months after the deadline of 31st January 2016. From 1st August 2016 taxpayers will be charged the greater of £300 or 5% of the tax due. If the return continues to remain outstanding one year after the filing deadline, further penalties will be charged from 1st February 2017.

Whilst HMRC has been taking a more pragmatic approach in respect of taxpayers that file a late return, this only applies to taxpayers that have a reasonable excuse for sending in a late return, a reasonable excuse would be unlikely to be found almost six months after the deadline.

In view of this, we would strongly recommend that any taxpayers that have still not submitted a return and / or paid the tax due should do so immediately in order to avoid any further penalties.

 

If you require help with this please contact Alexander Accountancy by emailing in**@al*******************.uk or telephone Burton upon Trent 01283 743851