HMRC has announced there won’t be:
- Late filing penalties for those who file online by 28th February, 2022
- Late payment penalties for those who pay the tax due in full or set up a payment plan by 1 April 2022.
BUT interest will still be charged on any outstanding amount from 1st February.
The additional time will be good news for those still struggling through their tax return however HMRC is encouraging customers to file and pay on time if they can, we always recommend that our clients do this so they know how much tax they need to pay and can budget accordingly. Even if you file your tax return for the new tax year in April, you still have the deadline (usually 31st January) to pay by so you can put money aside each month to make the payment less painful.
HMRC still offer Time to Pay, once the 2020-21 tax return has been filed, customers can set up an online payment plan to spread Self Assessment bills of up to £30,000, over and up to 12 monthly instalments.
Normally a 5% late payment penalty is charged on any unpaid tax that is still outstanding on 3rd March but will not be charged if the tax bill is paid or a payment plan is set up a payment plan by midnight on 1st April.
Self Assessment timeline:
| 31st January | Self Assessment deadline (filing and payment) |
| 1st February | interest accrues on any outstanding tax bills |
| 28th February | last date to file any late online tax returns to avoid a late filing penalty |
| 1st April | last date to pay any outstanding tax or make a Time to Pay arrangement, to avoid a late payment penalty |
| 1st April | last date to set up a self-serve Time to Pay arrangement online |
Taxpayers who are required to make Payments on Account, and know their bill is going to be lower than the previous tax year (for example: due to loss of earnings because of COVID-19), can reduce their Payments on Account. Click here to find out more about Payments on Account and how to reduce them..
Access Time to Pay by clicking here.
Taxpayers with Self Assessment debts over £30,000, or who need longer than 12 months to pay, may still be able to set up a Time to Pay arrangement by calling the Self Assessment Payment Helpline on 0300 200 3822.
Filing figures for 2020-21 tax returns so far:
31st December 2021 - 33,467 tax returns were filed. The peak time for filing was 11:00 to 11:59 when 3,835 returns were received
1st January 2022 - 14,231 tax returns were filed. The peak time for filing was 15:00 to 15:59 when 1,407 returns were received
