Penalties for late filing of Self Assessment
There are tax penalties for lateness of filing your self assessment tax returns and for late payment of any tax due.
If you do miss either deadline then interest is charged on both unpaid tax and unpaid penalties so it's vital you don't get in a position of increasing fines just because it "slipped your mind" or you "didn't have time". There are very few reasons that HMRC will accept as valid for late filing or payment. If you do need to file late then it is crucial that you let them know as soon as possible to demonstrate that you are doing your best to remedy the situation.
| Late Filing |
Late Payment |
Penalty |
| Miss filing deadline of 31 Jan |
|
Automatic £100 |
| |
30 days late |
5% of tax due |
| 3 months late |
|
Daily penalty £10 per day for up to 90 days (max £900) |
| 6 months late |
|
5% of tax due or £300, if greater |
| |
6 months late |
5% of tax outstanding at that date |
| 12 months late |
|
5% or £300 if greater, unless the tax payer is held to be deliberately withholding information that would enable HMRC to assess the tax due. |
| |
12 months late |
Based on behaviour:
- deliberate and concealed withholding 100% of tax due, or £300 if greater.
- deliberate but not concealed 70% of tax due, or £300 if greater.
Reductions apply for prompted and unprompted disclosures and telling, giving and helping.
|
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Example of late payment fines:
Bill goes away travelling and forgets to file is his tax return for the previous tax year before he goes. When he comes back he realises his mistake and files his return straight away, but his self assessment tax return has been filed 12 months late on a tax liability (the tax he owes for that year) of £10,000.
| Trigger date |
Penalty |
| Missed filing deadine: Jan 31st |
Automatic £100 |
| Unfiled after 3 months: 30th April |
£10 per day(for total of £900) |
| Unfiled after 6 months: 31st July |
£300 |
| Unfiled after 12 months: 31st Jan |
£300 |
For a total of £1600
Example of late payment fines
Not only does Bill get hit with the penalties for not filing on time, he gets an additional set for not making his payments on time, too:
| Trigger date |
Penalty |
| Unpaid by midnight 2nd March |
£500 (5%) |
| Unpaid by midnight 1st August |
£500 (5%) |
| Unpaid by midnight 1st Feb |
£500 (5%) |
For a total of another £1500.
So instead of having to pay just his tax bill of £10,000, Bill now has to pay £13,100 and deal with all the stress and worry that comes of being on the wrong side of HMRC.
This example doesn't even take into account if Bill had payment on accounts due for the upcoming tax year, which would increase the late payment penalties even more.
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