HMRC announce Self Assessment late filing penalties will be waived for a month after 31,000 people rush to submit during the holidays.
(2 minute read)
The Holiday Deadline Rush
This year, thousands rushed to get their returns in on time. As a result, over 31,000 submissions were received between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Out of those, nearly 3,000 were submitted on Christmas day.
For those rushing to get there returns in, we’ve good news from HMRC!
Waiving Self Assessment Late Filing Penalties
HMRC have just announced that they’re waiving penalties for a month.
They stress that the deadline remains 31st January 2022. However, you won’t incur penalties until 28th February.
This means that although you won’t be penalised, you will still be recorded as having missed a deadline.
HMRC state that this move aims to ‘give customers and their representatives additional time to pay if they need it.’
What This Means for You
If you submit your tax return in February, it will be treated as ‘late with a reasonable excuse.’
This means the enquiry window will be extended and penalties will resume as normal after 28th February.
You will be charged interest on late payments at a rate of 2.75% from January 2022, so you should submit your return on time if you can.
Normally, you will be charged an additional 5% interest if you haven’t paid your tax by 3rd March. However, this year, you have until 1st April to pay or set up a Time to Pay Agreement with HMRC.
Broadly, the waiver means that you have more time to submit your tax return before incurring Self Assessment late filing penalties.
Further Support
Being self-employed is hectic. Tax deadlines can sometimes creep up without you noticing.
If you find yourself struggling to stay on top of your deadlines you might benefit from some outside help.
The dedicated Tax Expert team have years of experience in supporting self-employed sole traders and partnerships. We manage the tax so you can manage your trade.
Contact us at 01772 788200 or leave a query below to see how we can help!
Kind regards Ilyas