HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has disclosed that at least four million Brits are yet to submit their completed self-assessment tax returns ahead of the 31 January 2022 deadline.
Concerned about the taxpayers’ likelihood of defaulting on the fiscal obligation, the HMRC has, therefore, urged those who were still to file their tax return, pay any outstanding liabilities or set up a payment plan, to do so ahead of the deadline to avoid paying interest on all outstanding balances from 1 February.
To encourage compliance, the HMRC has, like last year, waived penalties on late tax returns until 28 February and late tax payments until 1 April.
This means that anyone who cannot file their return by the 31 January deadline will not receive a late filing penalty if they file by 28 February. In addition, the waiver also implies anyone who cannot pay their tax liabilities by the 31 January will not receive a late payment penalty if they pay their tax in full, or set up a payment arrangement, by 1 April.
Speaking on the measures adopted to ensure the taxpayer compliance, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Frazer said: “We recognise that Omicron is putting people under pressure, so we are giving millions of people more breathing space to manage their tax affairs.
“Waiving late filing and payment penalties will help ease financial burdens and protect livelihoods as we navigate the months ahead”, she added
The HMRC maintained, however, that self-assessors will still be charged 2.75% interest on unpaid tax from 1 February.
This is even as the revenue commission stated that those unable to pay their tax bill can split their bill into smaller instalments using HMRC’s Time to Pay service and that self assessment taxpayers with up to £30,000 of tax debt can do this online once they have filed their return.
Based on HMRC’s database, more than 12.2 million customers are expected to complete a tax return for the 2020/21 tax year,
Commenting on the waiver arrangements, HMRC’s director general for customer services, Myrtle Lloyd, said: “We know some customers may struggle to meet the self assessment deadline on 31 January which is why we have waived penalties for one month, giving them extra time to meet their obligations.
“And if anyone is worried about paying their tax bill, they can set up a monthly payment plan online — search ‘pay my self assessment’ on GOV.UK”, Lloyd clarified.
