Online tax returns filed over Christmas period
A number of recent tweets from HMRC highlighted the fact that almost 2,000 taxpayers took the time to file their tax return online on Christmas Day and over 6,000 returns were filed on Christmas Eve. At the tail end of the holiday period over 16,000 taxpayers filed their tax returns on New Year’s Eve and 13,000 people spent part of the first day of 2017 completing their return.
Taxpayers are reminded that the deadline for submitting 2015-16 Self Assessment tax returns online is 31 January 2017. Taxpayers should also be aware that payment of any tax due should also be made by this date. This includes both the payment of any balance of Self Assessment liability for the 2015-16 plus any payment on account due for the current 2016-17 tax year. There are penalties for late filings and late payment including an automatic £100 penalty for submitting a late return even if there was no tax to pay or the tax due was paid on time.
Any taxpayers that are filing online for the first time should ensure that they register to use HMRC’s Self Assessment Online service as soon as possible. Once registered an activation code will be sent by mail.