Every year thousands of tax payers miss the deadline of 31st January, here are some excuses that HRMC accepted!
- a failure in the HMRC computer system (HMRC)
- your computer breaks down just before or during the preparation of your online return (HMRC)
- a serious illness, disability or serious mental health condition has made you incapable of filing your tax return (HMRC)
- you registered for HMRC Online Services but didn’t get your Activation Code in time (HMRC)
- it was lost in the post HMD Response International v’s HMRC 2011 The accountant produced a contemporaneous note in his office diary for 16 May showing that he had filed the return.
- “Impecuniosity”Maxine Barron v’s HMRC
- Cashflow difficulties caused by a change in CIS Status Kincaid v’s HMRC 2011
Around one in nine (11%) of the 560,000 people in Inner London who had to send in a tax return last year didn’t do so by the relevant deadline – 31 October for paper returns and 31 January for online submissions.
The one million taxpayers in Outer London were more punctual, with one in 11 (9%) failing to meet the deadline, but they were still the second worst offenders. The tardiest taxpayers outside of London were in the North West of England, with 8% of their 890,000 returns failing to meet the deadline.
Taxpayers in the rest of the English regions fared better. The most punctual were in the South West, with only 6% of their one million tax returns arriving late. The other English regions, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all registered 7% of late tax returns, which was the UK national average.
Don’t be late, get it done!!!
steve@bicknells.net
