Late filing excuses
Each year HMRC compiles a list of the most baffling excuses used by ‘genuine’ people who either did not submit a tax return when asked to or were late submitting one. In order to avoid paying the automatic £100 penalty these people can ask the Taxman to be lenient and in most cases their request is considered.
However, some excuses are strange, dishonest or not acceptable and this year, HMRC’s list includes:
- Fire on the yacht
- Car accident caused by wasp destroys tax return
- Wife couldn’t complete return for me as she has a headache
- Dog ate tax return and reminders
- Husband got the accountant in the divorce
- Child doodled over the tax return
- Colleague photocopied and then lost my tax return
- I thought the deadline was March 31st
- No internet
- No postman
Christmas day paperwork
About 10 million people are in the self-assessment system. The deadline for online filing is 31 January.
Thousands of people filed their tax returns over the festive season – a month before the deadline, the UK’s tax authority has said.
A total of 1,944 people submitted their self-assessment forms online on Christmas Day, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Another 6,214 submitted on Christmas Eve, and 6,200 did so on Boxing Day.
Returns up to three months late will incur a fine of at least £100. Those submitting forms on paper needed to do so by 31 October.
HMRC not showing the festive spirit
Ten thousand taxpayers received a letter from HMRC just before Christmas encouraging the individual to review their 2014/15 self-assessment tax returns.
The pre-Christmas nudge letters – a concept first introduced by the Behavioural Insight Team (BIT) – aimed to prod taxpayers who may be underpaying taxes, in particular those who have declared a bank interest on their 2014/15 tax return.
However, the timing of the letters caused some commentators – including an article in The Times – to label HMRC’s efforts as “far from festive”.
In the letter – dated 19 December – HMRC wrote: “It’s important to make sure that the figures shown on your tax return are right. Sometimes people make mistakes because they don’t take enough care while others deliberately get their figures wrong.”
HMRC then pointed out that it is the individual’s responsibility to make sure their tax return is complete and correct, before giving asking them to “reconsider” the entries on their return.
The letter then outlined what the individual should do: check their tax return entries are complete and correct, and if there’s a mistake, to amend it and inform HMRC.
The problem with this is that it caused concern to law-abiding people who fully believe they have disclosed everything properly”, and asked whether this approach to tax compliance is justifiable.
Although this untimely campaign may appear as “Scrooge-like”, according to research the theory behind nudging people to get their taxes right actually works.
Last minute help
Its not too late to submit your tax return online. FKGB will be doing a late one this year. Get us your information by midday on 31 January 2017 and we’ll do our best to get your tax return submitted on time…
