Now or never for your personal tax return!

The deadline for the filing of tax returns is a matter of days away, but if you act now you can still avoid being fined.

“Filing the tax return is a pain, and many people do leave it late, but we really are ‘down to the wire’ now,” says Brearley & Co Tax Manager Andrew Cowe.  “Anyone who has not filed by Thursday 31 January will suffer an immediate £100 fixed penalty, whether there turns out to be any tax due or not”. A daily penalty of £10 per day will ‘kick in’ if the return still isn’t in 3 months later, and two other penalties, both being 5% of the tax due or £300 (whichever is greater), are triggered after 6 and 12 months respectively”.

“Surprisingly, these penalties are not uncommon, because people simply bury their heads in the sand.  This issue will not go away, and HMRC will pursue the taxpayer until the return is filed and the penalty paid. However in the age of technology returns can be filed in seconds, and so if you are in this position, we can help if you contact us now”.

Andrew Cowe, Tax Manager, Brearley & Co