Various professional bodies (ICAEW, ICAS, CIOT, AAT, ACCA) have been lobbying the Government to push back the Self-Assessment filing deadline or at least to do so as regards the penalty provisions over the past few months. HMRC have now responded to say that they will not waive penalties nor extend the 31st January deadline.
However, HMRC will accept pandemic-related disruption caused to the taxpayer’s business or their personal circumstances as a reasonable excuse. The same will apply when agents are delayed in filing a return due to the pandemic.
The appeal period for a late filing penalty will be extended from one to three months to give taxpayers and agents more time.
Time to Pay arrangement
And don’t forget, that if the 31st January tax payment is no more than £30,000 that you can enter into a Time to Pay arrangement to spread the debt over 12 months. You can do this yourself online. If it is over £30,000, you can still discuss with HMRC about an arrangement over the phone. The following criteria needs to be met to apply for Time to Pay online:-
- There are no outstanding tax returns
- There are no other tax debts
- There are no other HMRC payment plans set up
- The debt needs to be between £32 and £30,000
- The payment plan needs to be set up no later than 60 days after the due date of a debt
To set up online payment plan or to contact HMRC
Pay your Self Assessment tax bill: Pay in instalments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you have any questions about the approaching Self-Assessment Filing Deadline, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Personal Tax Specialists at DRG Chartered Accountants. We would be pleased to hear from you.
DISCLAIMER: This information is for guidance only, and professional advice should be obtained before acting on any information contained herein. We will not accept any responsibility for loss to any person as a result of action taken or refrained from in consequence of the contents of this publication.
