HMRC waives penalties again for late self-assessment

Anyone who missed last month’s self-assessment deadline has until 28 February 2022 to file their tax returns online before being fined. 

HMRC said last month that fines would not be enforced on taxpayers who missed the 2020/21 deadline at midnight on 31 January 2022.  The tax authority said COVID-19 had piled added pressure on individuals and tax advisers to beat the original deadline for online submissions.

It is the second successive tax year that such a decision has been taken on self-assessment penalties, due to the pandemic. Anyone who could not pay their tax bill by 31 January 2022 has until 1 April 2022 to either pay their liability in full, or set up a time-to-pay arrangement.

A 5% late-payment penalty will be charged if tax is not paid or a payment plan has not been set up by midnight on 1 April 2022.  Interest, however, continues to accrue at 2.75% on any outstanding liabilities from 1 February 2022 onwards.

Angela MacDonald, deputy chief executive at HMRC, said: “We know the pressures individuals and businesses are again facing this year, due to the impacts of COVID-19.  “Waiving penalties for one month gives self-assessment taxpayers extra time to meet their obligations.”

The late-filing penalties (daily penalties from three, six and 12 months) will operate as usual from 1 March 2022.

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