The Tax Return Initiative is aimed specifically at the taxpayer liable to pay the 40p tax rate and above, and who has been told to submit a Self-Assessment tax return for 2009/10 or earlier, but have yet to do so.

Head of HMRC Campaigns, Marian Wilson said: “This campaign is part of a wider HMRC initiative to provide support and guidance to the public on tax obligations and is aimed at people who fail to submit their tax returns on time and pay what they owe.”

“The campaign provides a three-month opportunity for those who want to get their tax affairs up to date to come forward.

“Our aim is to make it easy for them to contact us and send in completed tax returns, putting their affairs in order.

“Penalties will be higher if we come and find people after the opportunity and some could face a criminal investigation. I urge people to come forward and disclose unpaid tax voluntarily”.

However the campaign is also available to any individual who has tax returns to submit to HMRC for these years.

People have until 2 October 2012 to tell HMRC they want to take part, submit completed returns, and pay the tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) that they owe.

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By coming forward voluntarily through the campaign customers will receive better terms, and any penalty they pay will be lower than if HMRC comes to them first.

After 2 October, if they have not submitted their tax returns and paid what they owe, HMRC has said that they will use all their available powers to pursue outstanding returns and any unpaid tax and NIC. Penalties of up to 100% of the tax due or even criminal investigation could follow.

So far, HMRC Campaigns have yielded nearly £510m from voluntary disclosures and over £120m from non-compliance follow-up from a large number of civil interventions.