HMRC has extended the self assessment deadline by a month until 28 February. It is a great relief for the customers struggling due to Coronavirus pandemic.
Self Assessment customers will not receive a penalty for filing their online tax return late, HMRC announced on 25 January.
Already more than 8.9 million taxpayers have filed their tax return. However, HMRC is encouraging anyone who has not yet filed their tax return to do so by 31 January, if possible.
The official self assessment deadline for completing a return is 31 January. After 31 Jan, a £100 late filing penalty would be automatically imposed. But HMRC said it recognised “the immense pressure” many individuals were facing as a result of the pandemic. They added, “It has become increasingly clear that some people will not be able to file their return by 31 January.”
But those who cannot file their return by the 31 January deadline will not receive a late filing penalty if they file online by 28 February. Thus taxpayers still have to pay their bill by 31 January. However, HMRC will not charge the interest from 1 February in regard to any outstanding liabilities.
There must be millions of taxpayers who cannot afford to pay their tax bill on time. They can apply online to spread their payments. But they will need to file their 2019/20 tax return before setting up a Time to Pay arrangement. So HMRC is encouraging everyone to do this as soon as possible.
Our friendly team of qualified tax advisers and accountants have specialized self assessment tax preparation experience. They can help and walk you through what the next steps are – contact us today.
Derek Cribb, CEO of the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), said:
‘We are pleased that HMRC has heeded our calls to show some leniency as 2020 was a financially devastating year for the self-employed.
‘While this is a helpful intervention, we believe HMRC could go further to relieve some of the financial stress on the self-employed. In particular, we would urge the government to do the decent thing and drop the late payment penalties on the tax owed as well, to allow freelancers to pay this back in instalments without the threat of fines.’
