HMRC: What The Self-Assessment Announcement Means

January is the busiest time for tax returns with accountants and agents working all hours to get self-assessment submissions in for their clients. But dues to the pandemic, there's been a lot of disruption so HMRC recently announced some good news ...

This was that they are giving taxpayers an extra month to submit their tax return and they'll waive late filing and late payment penalties for self-assessment taxpayers. A lot of busy accountants took a big breath of relief went his announcement was made.

"However, the deadline to file and pay remains the 31st of January 2022!"

So, you really should file your self-assessment tax return by the 31st of January, but if you're late you won't get a late-filing penalty if you file before the end of February instead. And you won't get a penalty as well if you pay your tax in full or set up a Time to Pay arrangement with HMRC before the 1st of April 2022.

HMRC has published more information on this. Interest will be payable from the 1st of February, as usual, so it is still better to pay on time if possible.

And don't forget there are a lot of scammers out there pretending to be from HMRC, so be very careful what information you share if someone gets in touch with you about your self-assessment tax return.

If anything I've written here resonates with you, call me on 01604 420057 and let's see how we can help you.