skip to main content

HMRC to hand out £89,000,000 in fines to UK tax payers for filing their tax return late

Our news section is no longer updated. This article is over 6 years old.

HMRC have revealed that as many as 890,000 people potentially face a fine of £100 for failing to submit and pay their tax return by the January 31st deadline.

Ruth Owen, director general of personal tax at the HMRC issued a reminder via the BBC that “If you’re on of the minority who missed the deadline you still need to get your tax return to us as soon as possible, to avoid further penalties and interest mounting up”.

It’s not all bad news though, as over 10.24 million people completed their tax return on time, a record and more than 200,000 more than last year.

Meanwhile, the Independent has reported that thousands of people are completing their tax return when they may not need to.

Over the years a number of excuses have been unsuccessfully used as to why a tax return was not filed on time, including the age-old excuse of “dog ate my tax return”.

If you think you might be one of the many who could be faced with a fine, it’s critical that you either speak to the HMRC, or your accountant, to avoid further late filing punishments which will be handed to you after three, six and twelve months – which could include additional interest payments on any amount owed.

Remember, it’s never too early in the year to start preparing for your tax return, and leaving it to the last minute can lead to unforeseen complications and additional bills.