Thousands filed their Self Assessment on New Year’s Day and HMRC urges those still to complete their tax return, to do it now.
- Around 25,000 taxpayers ‘celebrated’ the New Year by filing their Self Assessment tax return.
- If they miss the 31st January 2025 deadline, they could face a penalty.
With weeks to go, the countdown is on for the remaining 5.4 million who still need to complete and pay their Self Assessment and avoid penalties, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) warns.
Thousands of taxpayers have already done so by completing their tax returns before the fizz was barely flat on New Year’s Day.
HMRC can today reveal more than 24,800 people filed on 1st January. A further 38,000 had even squeezed theirs in before the bells on 31st December, with 310 filing between 23:00 and 23:59.
Filing tax returns and paying on time plays an important role in supporting public services and the government’s Plan for Change, which is delivering economic stability and investment across the UK. Anyone who is yet to file their tax return can do so online.
Anyone required to file a tax return for the 2023 to 2024 tax year who misses the 31st January 2025 deadline could face an initial late filing penalty of £100.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services:
We know completing your tax return isn’t the most exciting item on your New Year to-do list, but it’s important to file and pay on time to avoid penalties or being charged interest.
The quickest and easiest way to complete your tax return and pay any tax owed is to use HMRC’s online services – go to GOV.UK and search ‘Self Assessment’ to get started now.
Some 97% file online and one benefit is that they don’t have to complete it all in one go – they can save what they have done and pick it up again later.
Once a tax return is filed, payments can also be made quickly and securely through the HMRC app. Notifications can be set in the app to remind them when payments are due, so they don’t need to worry about missing deadlines or penalties. Information about the different ways to pay.
HMRC has a wide range of resources online including a series of video tutorials on YouTube, help and support to support completing the tax return.
For people who can’t meet the tax return deadline, HMRCs indicate that they will treat those with reasonable excuses fairly if they tell HMRC before 31st January 2025.
Penalties
The penalties for late tax returns are:
- an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time
- after 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900
- after 6 months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater
- after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater
There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months. If tax remains unpaid after the deadline, interest will also be charged on the amount owed, in addition to the penalties above.
Selling online
If someone regularly sells goods or provides services through an online platform, they may need to pay tax on their income. Customers can find out more about selling online and paying taxes or by downloading the HMRC app.
The guidance will help them decide if their activity should be treated as a trade and if they need to complete a Self Assessment tax return.
Who should file
You also may need to file a return if you:
- are newly self-employed and have earned gross income over £1,000
- earned below £1,000 but wish to pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions voluntarily to protect your entitlement to State Pension and certain benefits
- are a new partner in a business partnership
- have received any untaxed income over £2,500
- receive Child Benefit payments and need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge because you or your partner earned more than £50,000
Avoid scammers
Criminals use emails, phone calls and texts to try to steal information and money from taxpayers. Before sharing personal or financial details, people should search ‘HMRCtax scams’ to access a checklist to help decide if the contact received is a scam.
Want to know more about Self Assessment
More information about Self Assessment
How many filed across new year
Filing figures for New Year:
- 38,260 filed on New Year’s Eve, the peak hour for filing was 12:00 to 12:59 when 4,331 filed their return
- 24,828 filed on New Year’s Day, the peak hour for filing was 14:00 to 14:59 when 2,603 filed their return
PAYadvice.UK 12/1/2025