Research shows 1 in 4 think fine for filing late tax return isn't high enough
RSM Tenon is reminding taxpayers that the deadline for filing a tax return is still January 31st – not to be confused with the fact that HMRC has agreed that returns received by 2nd February will not attract the automatic £100 penalty due to planned strike action by workers.
From this year, taxpayers sending in their returns late will receive an automatic penalty of £100 even if the tax has been paid in full, or even if there is nothing to pay.
The move comes as HMRC takes a tougher stance in order to get people to file their tax returns before the deadline.
A survey carried out by RSM Tenon has shown that six out of ten people agree with HMRC, and think that the £100 penalty is a good way of getting people to send their return on time. Surprisingly though, just over a quarter of people said that the penalty should be higher if HMRC want it to be an effective deterrent against filing returns later than the deadline.
Paul Belsman, Head of Tax for RSM Tenon, said: ‘I think that from this year, a lot of people are going to be in for a nasty shock with the introduction an automatic £100 fixed penalty. Previously, people might have been able to negotiate over fines incurred because they didn’t owe any tax or filed their return late, but this just won’t be the case anymore.
‘Don’t assume that because you have no tax to pay that you don’t need to send in a tax return. If you are unsure as to whether you need to file a return, then you must talk to your tax adviser immediately as from the end of this week ignoring the issue could leave you seriously out of pocket.’
‘People mustn’t assume that they now have an additional two days in which to file their tax returns. The deadline is still 31 January, even though HMRC has said it will accept returns up to two days later. This extension is for a good reason, and I doubt that HMRC will look favourably on anyone filing their return after the extended deadline.’
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