Late tax return filers urged to file by the end of this week to avoid hefty penalties

untied, today urged anyone who has not yet filed their 2019/20 tax return, to do so by the end of this week in order to avoid the possibility of a hefty penalty.

Over one million taxpayers did not file their 2019/20 tax returns by the end of February 2021.  If these people have still not submitted their tax return by 30 April 2021, they could each be landed with an additional charge of up to £900.

This is because HMRC can start charging significant daily penalties of £10 a day for late returns after 30 April 2021. These daily charges can last for 90 days, up to a maximum of £900.  This is in addition to the initial late filing penalty of £100, that will have already been levied, and on top of any interest and penalties that will apply to any late tax payments.  Interest will also be continuing to accrue on any tax payments that are still outstanding for that year.

Whilst this year people were given until 28 February 2021 to submit a tax return without incurring a charge, the clock started ticking for the three-month late filing penalty from that date.  Therefore, unless HMRC say otherwise, taxpayers who still haven’t filed online by 30 April will start to incur further late-filing charges at the rate of £10 per day.

untied urges affected taxpayers to take control of this now to avoid adding extra to what they might already owe.

Even if individuals think they have a reasonable excuse for filing late, it’s still best to file returns as soon as you can possibly do so and then speak to HMRC later about appealing any penalty.

It’s important to emphasise that we’re talking about 2019/20 tax returns which relate to income earned between 6 April 2019 and 5 April 2020. The deadline for submitting these tax returns was at the start of 2021.

HMRC provides an online tool for helping estimate what penalties might need to be paid if the deadline has been missed.