Millions Leaving it Late to File Self-assessment Tax Returns to HMRC

As many as 3.5 million people were yet to file their self-assessment tax returns with HMRC just over a week from the deadline for doing so.

A significant proportion of self-employed men and women across the country leave it late to get their returns in but HMRC has warned that those who do so risk being hit with fines as a consequence.

The official deadline for self-assessment tax returns to be submitted electronically is 11.59pm on January 31st, with £100 fines issued to anyone who misses that cut off point.

Any money owed as tax also needs to be paid by that same point and submissions have to be sent in time even if no tax is ultimately due to be paid.

According to HMRC, 93 per cent of people who were required to do so sent their forms in on time ahead of last year’s deadline but millions still hadn’t filed their returns for the tax year 2017/18 as of January 22nd 2019.

However, official figures suggest that HMRC had received roughly 25,000 more self-assessment returns by January 22nd than was the case at the same point last year.

More than 11.5 million self-assessment tax returns are understood to be due to HMRC for the most recent tax year with just over 8 million having already been received.

“We are encouraging all self-assessment filers to complete their returns by 31 January and support is available every step of the way,” said Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s director general of customer services.

“Taxpayers can make use of HMRC’s online services, webinars and videos, the customer service helpline, webchat or our social media channels. We are on-hand to offer support and advice to help you complete your tax return.”

HMRC recently revealed some of the most outlandish excuses it has received in recent years from people returning their tax returns late.

Those excuses included claims from one person that their fingers that were too cold to type because their boiler had broken, while another self-assessor said they couldn’t get their return done in time because their mother-in-law had placed a curse upon them.