FILING DEADLINES
31 October 2019 – Paper Returns: If you send a paper Tax Return it must reach HMRC by midnight on 31 October. The deadline may be later if it is after 31 July when HMRC sends you the letter telling you to complete a Tax Return. In this case the letter will tell you the deadline – it is usually three months from the date of the letter. Or if you are sending a Self Assessment Return for a registered pension scheme or non-resident company, you can only send paper Returns so the deadline is not until 31 January.
31 January 2020 – Online Returns: Your online Tax Return must reach HMRC by midnight on 31 January. So for the 2018/19 tax year, the deadline for online Returns is midnight on 31 January 2020. Similarly, the deadline may be later if it is after 31 October 2019 when HMRC sends you the letter telling you to complete a Tax Return. In this case the letter will tell you the deadline – it is usually three months from the date of the letter.
30 December 2019 – PAYE code collection: If you want HMRC to collect any tax you owe through your tax code, you can ask for this if you owe less than £3,000. If your Return is submitted before 30 December, HMRC will try to collect the tax due through your code, but they cannot always do so.
PENALTIES
If you miss the deadline, the longer you delay, the more you will have to pay. So it is important to send your Tax Return to HMRC as soon as you can. The table below shows the penalties you will have to pay if your Tax Return is late; if a Partnership Tax Return is late, each partner will have to pay the penalties shown below:- 1 day late - A penalty of £100. This applies even if you have no tax to pay or have paid the tax you owe.
- 3 months late - £10 for each following day – up to a 90 day maximum of £900. This is as well as the fixed penalty above.
- 6 months late - £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is the higher. This is as well as the penalties above.
- 12 months late - £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is the higher. In serious cases you may be asked to pay up to 100% of the tax due instead. In some cases the penalties can be even higher than this. These are as well as the penalties above.
PAYMENT DEADLINES
31 January 2020:
You must pay any tax you owe by 31 January following the end of the tax year. For the tax year 2018/19 you must pay any tax you owe by 31 January 2020.
The payment deadline is the same for both paper and online Returns and there are very few exceptions. If you received a notification from HMRC after 31 October, telling you to complete a tax return, your deadline may be different. If this is the case, please contact us so we can advise you further.
On the 31 January, you will need to pay one or both of the following:- any tax you still owe for the previous tax year
- the first of two ‘Payments on Account’
Payments on account are part payments towards your next tax bill. You do not always have to pay these – it will depend on the amount of tax due and the kind of income you receive. HMRC will usually send you a ‘Self Assessment Statement’ that shows how much you owe or you can check your tax bill online.
31 July 2019: This is your deadline for making any further payments on account, on 31 July 2019 you would make your second Payment on Account for the 2018/19 tax year.PENALTIES
You will have to pay interest on anything you owe and have not paid, including any unpaid penalties, until HMRC receives your payment.
If you do not pay the tax you owe for the previous tax year on time, you will have to pay a penalty after 30 days and the longer you delay, the more you will have to pay. So it is important to pay the tax as soon as you can:
- 30 days late - 5% of the tax you owe at that date*
- 6 months late - 5% of the tax you owe at that date; this is as well as the 5% above*
- 12 months late - 5% of the tax unpaid at that date; this as well as the two 5% penalties above*
*The penalties above do not apply to any payments on account that you pay late. You may think you have a reasonable excuse for paying your tax late; if you believe this to be applicable to your circumstances please contact us for further action and or advice.
SELF ASSESSMENT ENQUIRIES
‘Process now, check later’is one of the fundamental principles of Self Assessment. Processing involves getting the Return details logged onto the computer either direct by us as agent online or if filed by post by HM Revenue & Customs staff as quickly as possible, so that liabilities, as calculated by the taxpayer, are recorded, whilst the enquiry procedure forms the ‘check later’ part of the equation.
The Revenue have the right to issue an enquiry at any time during a fixed period after submission of the Return, known as the enquiry window, and must give the taxpayer written notice where they intend to make an enquiry. Section 96 of Finance Act 2007 introduces a significant change in amending the enquiry window in respect of Income Tax, Partnership and Corporation Tax Returns to close twelve months after the date the return was delivered which is designed to encourage an even flow of work for advisers and HMRC alike during the year rather than the heavy workload of submissions towards the 31 January filing deadline.
This rule applies provided Tax Returns are received on or before the statutory deadline. There is no change to the enquiry window for large groups of companies, or to the deadline for enquiries into Returns issued late.
Such enquiries may relate to specific aspects of your return or may result from random selection and you are obliged by law under the Self Assessment rules to keep all documents relating to preparation and completion of your Tax Return for five years after the 31 January following the end of the tax year in order that they are available to deal with any enquiries. If any enquiries are raised, the records should be kept until the conclusion of those enquiries and you should note that penalties of up to £3,000 may be imposed for failing to keep records for the required period.
