The tax expert at ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) – Chas Roy Chowdhury – is reminding self-assessment tax payers that midnight 31 January 2019 is the deadline for online filing of tax self-assessment for the tax year 2017 / 18, ending 5 April 2018.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at ACCA says: ‘Last year, according to HMRC stats, amazingly some 16,000 dedicated and organised people completed their online tax forms over the Christmas break. Clearly the holiday season means spare time for some, a chance to get their tax affairs in order before the New Year begins.

‘It’s important to remember when the deadlines are and also what to do if you are distracted over the holidays and miss the deadline.

‘Penalties start to kick in if you miss the deadline for submitting your return, or if you are late for paying your bill. There’s a £100 fine if your tax return is up to 3 months late and there is also interest charged on late payments. Remember to keep in mind that you must submit your online return by 30 December if you want HMRC to calculate and automatically collect tax you owe from your wages and pension from April next tax year.’

ACCA advises that HMRC will consider legitimate reasons for late filing and late payment – what HMRC calls a “reasonable excuse”, which are listed on the GOV.UK website.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury concludes: ‘When the celebrations are over, perhaps then is the time to make your tax return and payment as part of a New Year Resolution to get organised – not just with your tax affairs but also all personal finance issues, from your pension to savings. Now there’s a challenge for 2019 for all of us!’

https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/news/2018/december/self-assessment.html