Did you know? 

It can be solved if you missed the self assessment date – you are not alone!

Filing a Self Assessment tax return can be a daunting and time consuming process (very much underrated) and many people miss the 31 January deadline so you are not alone. 

According to HMRC, 1.1 million people missed the deadline alone for January 2024, for the 5th April 2023 tax year. 

If you are not sure whether you needed to complete a self assessment tax return, you can use HMRCS self assessment tool on their website or check out this list below for criteria– you will need to complete a tax return if you:

  • or your partner received child benefit and either of you had an annual income of more than £50,000.
  • received more than £2,500 in other untaxed income, for example, from tips or commission; money from renting out a property; income from savings, investments and dividends; foreign income.
  • are a self-employed sole traders and earned more than £1,000.
  • are a partner in a sole trading business, alongside the self assessment partnership return for the business.  
  • are an employee claiming expenses in excess of £2,500.
  • have an annual income over £100,000.

The Self Assessment deadline of 31 January is also a deadline for you to pay any tax/national insurance you owe for the previous tax year, including any payment due for payment on account. Please see our blog on this further down the list, if you are unsure as to what this is. 

There is also the 31 July deadline for your second payment on account, so it might be wise to think about this tax return being filed quickly so you don’t get any nasty shocks! 

What to do if you missed the 31 January deadline

If you missed the 31 January deadline, the most important things to do are to not panic and get to work as soon as you can.

However, as it’s late, there will likely be various penalties to be pay.

Be aware of the penalties

  • An initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time.
  • After three months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day may be charged, up to a maximum of £900.
  • After six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater.
  • After 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater.
  • There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, six months and 12 months. Interest will be charged on all late payments.

Get in touch with HMRC now! 

It’s always worth a call to HMRC as they may waive the penalties, but the reasons need to be genuine and could be because of:

  • A close relative or partner died shortly before the deadline.
  • You had an unexpected stay in hospital that prevented the submission of your tax return.
  • You had a serious or life-threatening illness.
  • There were service issues with HMRC online.
  • The delay was related to a disability.

It is not guaranteed that HMRC will waive any penalties as it depends on individual circumstances. But it is worth a go. They will tell you what you need to do to appeal them.

It is very important to note that you will still need to file your tax return as soon as possible or the penalties will not be cancelled unfortunately. 

Accountants deal with this circumstances quite often and therefore we can help. 

Give us a call to discuss further and see how we can help you cut your tax bill!

0800 061 4619 or communication@dlraccounting.com