Brits To Pay GBP479m In Tax Return Fines

Thu, 22 Jan 2009

UK taxpayers are set to fork out nearly £500m in penalties for late filing of online tax returns, according to a new study.

Research by website Unbiased.co.uk reveals that people filing returns after the 31 January deadline, miscalculations and fines on unpaid tax from previous years will generate £479m for the taxman – up £26m on forecasts for 2008.

Late filing will raise £102m, miscalculations made on tax forms will produce £315m in fines and £62m in add-ons will be contributed through unpaid tax from previous years, according to this year’s forecast.

David Elms, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, commented: "The penalties for those who return their self-assessment forms late or incorrectly remain unforgiving, so now is the time to take tax action."

"Missing the HMRC’s deadlines inevitably results in hefty fines, and in the current climate more than ever we would urge consumers to avoid this by ensuring that their forms arrive on time and in order," he added.

The study also shows that over 1 million self-assessment forms were estimated to have been handed in late – the vast majority of which incurred a penalty of £100, and many more were subject to further surcharges, the study said.

This represented an increase of 16 per cent on 2006, which showed consumers were still 'failing to take action and reduce the amount of tax they pay,' the study added.
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.