Tax Filing Deadline Extended by 48 Hours

Tax Filing Deadline Extended by 48 Hours

17:13 PM, 31st January 2012, About 13 years ago

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Landlords late with their tax returns can breathe a sigh of relief as the filing deadline is delayed due to striking civil servants.

Tax office staff belonging to the Public and Commercial Services union PCS are away from their desks for 24 hours to protest over trials of private call centres by HM Revenue and Customs.

The union fears private firms will take over the tax man’s call centres, leading to job losses.

HMRC decided to extend the filing deadline for self assessment returns by 48 hours to avoid claims from tax payers that they filed late because the strike disrupted online services and telephone help lines.

Now, no late filing penalties or interest on late tax payments will be imposed on tax payers filing online before midnight on February 2.

Stephen Banyard, of HMRC, said: “We’ve always been very clear that we want the returns – not the penalties.”

The filing deadline is still midnight on January 31, 2012, for submitting self assessment tax returns online and paying any tax due.

Returns filed up to midnight on February 2 will be treated as if they were filed on January 31.
Filing after midnight on February 2 will trigger a fine.
The penalty is £100. This is still due even if:

  • The return is just a day late
  • No tax is due
  • Any tax due is paid

“The longer you delay, the more you’ll have to pay. If your tax return is three months late, you’ll have to pay a penalty for each additional day it is late. If it’s six months late, you’ll have to pay a further penalty and another final penalty if it’s 12 months late. Together these could add up to a penalty of £1,600 or more,” says the HMRC web site.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Instead of making even more cuts and throwing public money at private companies, ministers should be investing in their staff and tackling the billions in tax avoided and evaded by the super-rich.”


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