HMRC HAS PROVIDED FOR MORE TIME TO FILE UK TAX RETURNS FOR THE 2020/21 TAX YEAR

The January 31, 2022 filing deadline for UK Self Assessment tax returns is fast approaching. Of the 12.2 million taxpayers who need to submit their tax returns almost 6.5 million have already done so but this leaves a lot of returns to be filed in the next 3 weeks which is causing great concern to many taxpayers and their tax advisors.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced it recognizes that COVID 19 is affecting the capacity of some taxpayers to meet the deadline and is waiving late filing and late payment penalties for Self Assessment for one month, providing extra time to file the 202021/21 tax return and pay any tax due.

The January 31 filing deadline still remains but some key HMRC COVID 19 relief measures are outlined below:

Late filing penalties - taxpayers who cannot file a return by the 31 January deadline will not receive a late filing penalty if it is filed online by 28 February
Late payment penalties - normally a 5% late payment penalty is charged on any unpaid tax that is still outstanding on 3‌‌ ‌March. This year, like last year, HMRC is giving taxpayers more time to pay outstanding tax or set up a payment plan - extending this date to midnight April 1, 2022.

Taxpayers should be aware however that, interest will still be charged from February 1 on any unpaid tax. Currently, the late payment interest rate is 2.75%.

The forthcoming timeline for the Self Assessment tax returns for the 2020/21 tax year reflecting the HMRC COVID 19 announcement is as follows:

31 January – Self Assessment deadline (filing and payment)
1 February – interest accrues on any outstanding tax bills
28 February – last date to file any late online tax returns to avoid a late filing penalty
1 April – last date to pay any outstanding tax or make a Time to Pay arrangement, to avoid a late payment penalty
1 April – last date to set up a self-serve Time to Pay arrangement online

For more detail about the above which you may find of interest, tax payers can visit the government announcement HERE.

If you would like to discuss further the relief measures as they pertain to your situation or if you have any questions about your UK taxes please do get in contact with our tax professionals HERE. We are here to help.