Self Assessment Tax Return – Deadlines and Penalties

You must do your self assessment tax return here in the United Kingdom if you have any undeclared taxable income including; dividend, property rental income,  investment income and other taxable income. As per the record of tax return 2021/22, more than 300k taxpayers missed their self assessment deadline of 31 January 2023 and 11.7 million submitted their returns on time. You might subject to penalty charges if failure to comply with self assessment requirements. We will note here the key aspect of self assessment registration, submission, payment and inaccurate tax return.

Self Assessment Registration Deadlines

If you have new source of taxable income and you need to declare for income tax purposes, you must notify HMRC by 05 October in your business’s second tax year. For example, you need to notify HMRC by 05 October 2023 for tax year ended 05 April 2023. You could be fined by HMRC if you don’t do so. You can register for self assessment tax return with HMRC via online or post.

Tax Return Submission Deadline

There are two options to submit the tax return; paper based tax return and online tax return. The paper tax return must be submitted by 31 October and the online tax return by 31 January following the tax year ended.

For instance, the tax return for 05 April 2023 must be submitted by 31 January 2024 if doing by online and by 31 October 2023 if via post. If you are failure to submit the return on time, HMRC may charge penalty on your late filing depends on how long you are late. You may appeal on the penalty charges if you have reasonable excuse.    

Income Tax Payment Date

The income tax liability must be paid by 31 January following the tax year ended. For an example, the income tax for 05 April 2023 must be paid by 31 January 2024. However, you may be subject on payment account if your tax liability is more than £1,000 and you paid less than 80% of the previous year’s tax. Payment on account means you need to pay two payments in a year; one is on 31 January and another one is on 31 July.

HMRC will charge penalty and interest on your late payment if you missed the deadline. The penalty depends on how long the payment is overdue and the amount of income tax liability. However, you may pay only the interest, not the penalty on the late payment if you have a payment plan arrangement with HMRC for your tax liability.

Incorrect Tax Return

HMRC will charge penalty on your wrong tax return if you have lack of reasonable care, deliberate error or concealed and the penalty depends on the reasons of the error and the potential lost revenue. Penalty may be reduced to nil and it depends on your quality of disclosure.

Here to Help on Your Tax Return?

At The Stan Lee, we can confidently help on your self assessment tax matters with reasonable fees. For further information and about your income tax affairs, please get in touch with one of the friendly team and let’s find out how we can meet your tax return deadline and minimise your tax legitimately.

Disclaimer: The above information is just as a general information that might help you. However, we highly recommend having expert advice suited for your circumstances. The Stan Lee and its author are not liable if you rely on this and have any consequences.