Tax Return 2011

The deadline for the online submission of tax returns for the year ended 5 April 2011 was 31 January 2012.

If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of people who annually miss this important deadline, then you may be getting rather a shock through your letterbox over the next few days.

HMRC have started to send out the daily fine notices for the late 2011 Tax Returns. Whereas in prior years a fine could only be levied if you actually owed tax, from 6 April 2011 the rules changed so that anyone who is late and is required to complete a self assessment tax return will be liable for the new fines, whether or not they owe any tax, The new HMRC fines for personal self assessment are quite draconian. They were previously set at £100 if you were late and would eventually increase to £200 if you were persistent in not responding to reminders, however the new HMRC penalty regime is much more serious.

There is still the £100 basic fine for not submitting your tax return online before 31 January 2012, however if you have still not submitted your return after another 3 months has passed (May 1st 2012) then the fines starts increasing at the rate of £10 per day. Previously HMRC daily fines were saved for only the most persistent offenders. The daily fines will run for a maximum of 90 days (£900) and then on 1st August another fine of £300 or 5% of the tax outstanding will be applied whichever is the higher, this is on top of the daily fines and the original £100 fine.

If your tax return is currently late, please get in touch with us on 01666 822256 or contact us through our instant quote form and we will assist you in submitting your return and stopping the HMRC fines.