As part of HMRC’s extended COVID support measures, it was announced in early January that late filing penalties would be waived for taxpayers who didn’t hit the original filing deadline of 31st January 2022, as long as the return is subsequently filed by no later than 28th February 2022.
Although this is welcome relief to the over 2 million people that didn’t meet the filing deadline this year, any returns filed after 31st January 2022 are still classed as late, so although avoiding a penalty does mean they will still be subject to an extended enquiry window with HMRC.
In addition to the penalty waiver, HMRC also announced further support for taxpayers in helping spread payments due at the end of January. For liabilities under £30k you can apply to HMRC online to set up a time to pay arrangement. If the liability is either paid in full or a time to pay in place before 1st April 2022 then there will be no late payment penalty applied to the outstanding amounts.
Any payments made to HMRC after 31st January is still subject to late payment interest which is currently charged at a rate of 2.75% per annum.
If you have already missed the 31st January deadline, don’t miss the extended deadline of 28th February which would cause you both financial penalty but also potential for increased scrutiny by HMRC into your tax affairs.
If you need assistance in assuring that you are on top of your tax affairs going forward, do get in touch with the team who would be delighted to assist.
