It’s been reported that 2.3m taxpayers have missed the 31 January filing deadline which is up half a million on last year. We hasten to add that none of our clients are included in this figure……

If you’re yet to submit your return then don’t worry, late filing penalties won’t be charged if a return is filed by the end of February, but interest has started to run on any unpaid tax.

HMRC had received 9.9m returns by the 31 January deadline (2.3m less than the 12.2m expected). Around 2m returns were filed in the last week of January (cutting it a bit fine), which means that the overall filing rates are now about 0.5m behind last year, rather than the 1m reported previously. 

Some more interesting stats;

• 92% of returns were filed on time in 2020 compared to 81% filed by 31 January this year. 

• 96% of returns were filed online (a similar level to last year).

Some ICAEW members have reported that it is taking longer than usual for online accounts to be updated. Perhaps due to so many last minute returns? 

Any time to pay arrangement needs to be in place by 1 April 2022 to avoid the 5% late payment penalty. It’s important to note that interest is running now on any unpaid tax regardless of whether you set up a payment plan or not.