Often taxpayers want to ask questions and get quick answers, which is why they like to use the phone. The NAO have published a report and the key facts are below.
We also know that taxpayers often leave things till close to the deadline
So if you don’t want to spend 47 minutes waiting to speak to HMRC only to find out they can’t answer your question because its too specific or requires an opinion why not use an accountant?
A record 85.5% of these were sent online, with the busiest days for filing coming on 30 and 31 January, when HMRC received 980,000 returns. The busiest hour was between 1pm and 2pm on 30 January, when almost 50,000 returns were received – 830 per minute.
The busiest hour on deadline day was between 11 am and midday, when almost 32,000 returns were received – 530 per minute. HMRC also answered 95% of calls first time on deadline day.
Around 4.3 million customers (42%) left it until January to file their returns, which HMRC issued in April 2014.
By the end of January, more than a million Self Assessment-only customers (self-employed, with no other source of income, no employees and not VAT-registered) opted to receive electronic messages from HMRC, rather than paper communications. If you are eligible, you can sign up by logging into your Self Assessment online account and following the prompts.
There are three different types of penalties that can be charged if a return is outstanding after the return due date or is filed late. These are
