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Missed the tax return deadline? Do it by 30 April before further charges

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
03/05/2016

If you missed the January tax return deadline, do it by 30 April or you’ll be hit with additional daily fines.

Around 870,000 people missed the self-assessment tax return deadline on 31 January, incurring a £100 penalty from HM Revenue & Customs.

But for those who are still yet to submit their 2014/15 tax return, you now have until 30 April to do so before being faced with further fines.

A £10 daily penalty starts to accrue if the return is not filed three months after the return due date, and it’s charged for a maximum of 90 days.

If your return’s not filed within six months or 12 months after the due date, you’ll have to pay a further £300 or 5% of the tax liability, whichever is higher.

This means potentially, anyone not filing their self-assessment tax return by 1 August could be hit with penalties totalling £1,300.

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) is urging anyone who has not yet filed their online self-assessment tax return with HMRC for the year ended 5 April 2015, to do so by the end of this month.

Anthony Thomas, LITRG chairman, said: “Automatic penalties for late submission of self-assessment tax returns take no account of the amount of tax an individual owes. They are the same for everyone – even if you owe nothing at all or are owed tax back. Those on low incomes who may be struggling to deal with the tax system alone can very easily fall foul of them simply due to being insufficiently aware of their tax obligations.

“Importantly, the fines can be appealed against if you have a reasonable excuse for filing the return late.  This might include situations such as prolonged ill-health, bereavement, or family breakdown – to give just a few examples.”

See YourMoney.com’s Top tips to get your tax return filed.