Almost two million taxpayers have filed their self-assessment returns online in time for the 31st January deadline, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), 38% up on last year.

More than 300,000 online returns were received in the week leading up to the deadline, although nearly 900,000 people missed the cut and were fined.

HMRC chairman Sir David Varney said: “By enhancing our IT infrastructure and improving our system monitoring, we have successfully ensured that taxpayers have been able to file in time for the deadline.”

Financial expert Martin Cunningham commented: “I’m sure everyone’s delighted that HMRC has got it right this year.”