There has been a 14% increase, year on year, of HMRC penalties for late self-assessment tax filing. 2015/16 291,000 taxpayers were penalised for late payments, increasing to 331,000 in the following year. They have already issued 233,000 fines since the 31st January 2019 deadline for the self-assessment tax year 2017/18.
“The pool of people at risk of being fined for late payment is now bigger than ever as self-employment continues to grow,” said Tim Woodgates, associate and tax specialist at Moore Stephens. “UK taxpayers are feeling the pinch. As a result, some do not have the money to pay the tax bill on time, even though they want to.”
Late filing penalties can be a mixture of fixed rate and tax geared penalties with interest charged on both unpaid tax and unpaid penalties, if both apply.
Late filing
- Miss filing deadline – £100
- 3 months late – Daily charge of £10 per day up to max £900 + £100 per above
- 6 months late – 5% of tax outstanding at that date or £300, whichever greater + penalties above
- 12 months late – 5% of tax outstanding at that date or £300 if greater, unless the taxpayer is held to be deliberately withholding information that would enable HMRC to assess the tax due
Late Payment
- 30 days late – 5% of tax due
- 6 months late – a further 5% of tax outstanding at that date
- 12 months late – an additional 5% of tax outstanding at that date
HMRC may accept “reasonable excuses” to waive late filing penalties. “Reasonable excuse” being defines at “normally something unexpected or outside your control that stopped you meeting a tax obligation” such as:
- The recent death of a partner
- An unexpected hospital stay
- Computer failures
- Service issues with the tax authority’s on- line services
- A fire which prevented the completing of a tax return or postal delays
Each case is assessed on an individual basis.
If you need help with your Self Assessment then please call us on 0113 2864486 so we can help.
Source: Accountancy Age & Which
Our Services
-
Payroll and Auto Enrolment
Employing people can cause stress for a business owner for many reasons and one of these is payroll. Our teams expect that they will be paid on time and with the correct level of deductions made. We can provide a full payroll service for your business including auto-enrolment, keeping you compliant with your many legal responsibilities.
-
Tax Protection
With HMRC becoming more spontaneous with tax investigations we strongly suggest that every business is insured against the cost of investigation. So strongly in fact, that we automatically build it in to our fixed fee agreements. Many of our clients have been very grateful for this insurance when HMRC have come knocking.
Pop in or give us a call
We'd love to hear from you
When it comes to supporting small enterprises, helping them grow whilst avoiding regulatory and commercial pitfalls, we have a weath of experience, expertise and a kettle - a very good kettle. If you think we could be a good fit, get in touch to see how we can add value to your business.