| Taxpayers could find
themselves paying a high price for
submitting late tax returns under a new
penalty regime introduced in April. From
6 April 2011, anyone submitting a self
assessment return a day late will receive
a £100 penalty and for a delay of three
months, will have to pay additional
penalties on top of that, at a rate of £10
a day and up to a maximum of £900.
If the delay reaches six months, the
taxpayer will be asked to pay a further
£300 or five per cent of the tax due,
whichever of the two is the higher.
After 12 months, another £300 or five
per cent of tax due penalty will be levied
again, although the cost could go up to
100 per cent of the tax due in serious
cases.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says all
the penalties will apply, even if the
taxpayer has no tax to pay or pays all the
tax they owe, although it will waive
penalties if they have a reasonable excuse
for missing the deadline, such as a
life-threatening illness, the death of a
partner or documents being lost through
theft, fire or flood that cannot be
replaced in time.
Penalties will also be charged on late
payments. After 30 days, the penalty is
five per cent of unpaid tax at that date,
with the same penalties levied after six
months and 12 months. Interest will also
be levied on all outstanding amounts,
including any unpaid penalties, until all
payments are made.
LINK:
New late filing penalties |
