HMRC Extends Self Assessment Tax Deadline by Two Days
People who file their self-assessment tax returns on 1 February and 2 February will not be "unfairly" fined, a government minister confirmed today.
The extension is an acknowledgement that planned strike action by some HMRC (HMRC) staff on 31 January will cause staff shortages at its call centers, which could mean that thousands of taxpayers who have queries about their tax return will be unable to get answers and may decide to delay filing their returns until after the deadline.
A treasury spokesman has said, "This strike could have caused thousands of people to incur fines, so I am pleased that HMRC has taken this common sense approach. The government does not want anyone trying to file their tax return on time to be unfairly penalised because they were unable to get through for help and advice on the 31st January."
Stephen Banyard from HMRC, said: "We've always been very clear that we want the returns - not the penalties. For that reason, we don't want anyone who can't get through for help and advice on 31 January to be disadvantaged in any way."
HMRC has said previously that although taxpayers would not be given more time to file their self-assessment returns, anyone who is unable to get through to a call centre to get a questions answered would have a "reasonable excuse" for filing late and would not be fined.
If you have a question about your self assessment tax return, please contact a member of the Chiene + Tait team on 0131 558 5800 or email mail@chiene.co.uk