Don’t miss the Tax Return deadline. Here’s what happens if you do..

4 years ago by Oliver Atkinson

The deadline for filing online tax returns and paying tax is 31st January following the tax year end (5th April). Therefore the 2017/18 return needs to be filed by 31st January 2019.

Don’t risk missing the Tax Return deadline. Here’s what happens if you do..

Deadlines & Penalties

The deadline for filing online tax returns and paying tax is 31st January following the tax year end (5th April). Therefore the 2017/18 return needs to be filed by 31st January 2019. If the return is filed up to 3 months late, you will get a penalty of £100 while you will be charged a daily penalty of £10 per day up to a maximum of £900 if you are more than 3 months late. There will be a further £300 penalty (or 5% of the tax owing) if you are more than 6 months late while an additional penalty of £300 (or 5% of the tax owing) will be applied if you are more than 12 months late.

Consequences of missing the deadline

Some tax claims and elections such as Blind Person’s Allowance have time limits on how long you have to make the claim. If you are behind with filing your tax returns you may miss out on claiming a valuable allowance. If you need to apply for a mortgage, re-mortgage or get a letting reference, you will need to provide your tax computations and tax year overviews. This will not be possible if you have not filed the relevant tax return with HMRC.

What to do if you are late

If you don’t think that a return should have been issued due to your circumstances changing, then you must let HMRC know so they withdraw the requirement to file a tax return. You can go back and submit 3 years’ worth of late returns online meaning that within the 2018/19 year you can go back and file returns for 2017/18 along with 3 late returns – 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17.

What happens when you file late returns

HMRC will likely issue penalties for late filing and charge interest for late payment of tax. However, these can be appealed in certain circumstances depending on the reason for late filing. It will look better for you (and potentially) minimise any HMRC penalties if you voluntarily file these returns with HMRC rather than waiting for HMRC to demand them.