If you are one of the six million people who have yet to send in your tax return and are obliged to do so, then you now have two weeks to complete it, file it with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and pay any tax that you owe. If you don’t meet this tax deadline, then you must pay a £100 fine and may face other penalties.
Last year, nearly 900,000 taxpayers missed the deadline for filing their 2014/15 return and had to pay the fine. With so many returns still outstanding, it’s a fair bet that the figure is likely to be similar or higher this time around.
Who must file a tax return?
You must file a tax return If, during the tax year that ended on April 5, 2016 you were:
Self employed
Received more than £2,500 in untaxed income (this might have come from a rental property)
You or your partner’s income was more than £50,000 and you claimed child benefit
You sold shares, a second home or other items which netted you enough profit to warrant capital gains tax
You are a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer and you received dividends from shares
You earned more than £100,000 during the tax year
You were the trustee of a trust or registered pension scheme
HMRC also specifies that some other people who work in particular professions – religious ministers, for instance – also have to fill in a tax return. Other people including Lloyds underwriters may also have to file. You can find out more on the HMRC website.
If you haven’t registered
Time is extremely tight if you haven’t registered yet and need to file a tax return. That’s because the tax deadline for paper returns closed in October and you now need to file it online at the HMRC website. To do so, you will need to register and that takes several days or weeks.
You’ll need your unique taxpayer reference number (UTR) which will be on any correspondence sent to you by HMRC as well as your P60. You will need to enrol with service online and then wait for be sent an activation code in the post which is supposed to take seven working days but can take longer during busy periods. You then use this code to activate the service.
Once activated, you’ll be able to use your online personal tax account to file. You’ll need to set this up at the Gov website.
I have an excuse for missing the tax deadline
Don’t bank on HMRC being lenient with you. The agency says that it will “always help and support for those who have a genuine excuse” but urges those who think that they might miss the tax deadline to get in touch sooner rather than later and explain why they might file late.
HMRC has recently said that it will be lenient with those providing a reasonable excuse for late filing because it is devoting more resources to crack down on tax evaders and those who consistently file late. In a statement, it said: “This remains the case, but the excuse must be genuine and we might ask for evidence.” It gave examples of some excuses which were rejected last year including a man who claimed his return was on his yacht which caught fire and another who said his wife filled out his return traditionally but that she had suffered from a headache for the 10 days leading up to the deadline.
Penalties
If you miss the deadline of midnight on January 31 and don’t have an acceptable excuse, then you’ll be automatically fined £100. This applies even if you don’t owe any tax.
If you then go three months late, you’ll be fined £10 for every day that you are late up to a maximum of £900. Go six months late and you’ll face a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater, and after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge. There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, six months and 12 months.
Oliver Jones has written for Solution Loans since 2015. His passion for personal finance comes through in the 150+ blog posts he's written since that time. His talent for explaining all things money means he's covered topics as diverse as...Read about Oliver Jones
We use cookies to make your experience on our site even better. They also help us to understand how you use our site. By clicking 'Accept All' you're agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie preferences by choosing 'Manage Settings' and if you want to know more, you can read our cookie policy.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.