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Self assessment deadline extended for two days
Taxpayers who file their self assessment tax return online on 1 or 2 February will not be penalised, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.
The announcement follows planned strike action by Revenue staff on 31 January. The resulting staff shortages could mean that taxpayers who have queries about their tax return are unable to obtain assistance.
Under HMRC’s new, tougher system of penalties, taxpayers failing to file their tax return online by the 31 January deadline would normally be subject to an immediate penalty of £100. The fine applies even if there is no tax to pay, or the tax is paid on time.
However, HMRC said that it did not want any taxpayer to be ‘unfairly disadvantaged’ as a result of the strike action, and emphasised that it wanted ‘the returns - not the penalties’.
Under the new regime, tax returns which are still not filed after three months will be subject to daily penalties, and additional penalties will apply to returns which remain unfiled after six and 12 months, adding up to a potential penalty of £1,600 or more.
More than two million individuals have yet to file their returns.
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