Late filing of Self Assessment tax returns (21-07-2016)
Source: HM Revenue & Customs | 21-07-2016
Taxpayers that have not yet filed their 2014-15 Self Assessment returns will have been charged an automatic £100 penalty for late submission. The penalty applied from 1 February 2016 even if no tax was due or the tax due was paid on time.
However, taxpayers who were meant to file online by 31 January 2016, and have still not filed their 2014-15 return, are reminded that they will face far greater penalties. A daily penalty of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900 (90 days) would have been charged from 1 May 2016.
There are further penalties that apply if the return is still outstanding for more than 6 months after the 31 January 2016 filing deadline. From 1 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 1 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. It would be hard to find a reasonable excuse almost six months after the deadline for payment!
We would recommend that any taxpayers that have still not submitted a return and / or paid the tax due should do so as soon as possible in order to avoid any further penalties.