Londoners singled out as late filing culprits
HMRC has pointed the finger at Londoners as being among the worst offenders for not filing their Self-Assessment Tax Returns on time.
According to the Revenue, around one in nine (11%) of the 560,000 people in inner London didn’t file their tax return on time last year, whether it be the paper version due by 31st October or electronic version due by 31st January.
One million taxpayers in Outer London faired a little better however, with one in eleven (9%) only failing to meet the deadline. Little comfort however as they remained the second worst offenders!
Outside of the capital the region that harboured fellow the next tardiest filers was the North West of England, where 8% of 890,000 tax returns were late.
At the other end of the scale the South West boasted the most punctual tax return filers, with only 6% of one million tax returns being sent in late. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all met the UK national average of 7% filing late returns.
HMRC Director General of Personal Tax, Ruth Owen, said:
“Whether you’re from London, Livingston, Lisburn or Llandudno, the consequences of missing the tax return deadline are the same – an automatic £100 late filing penalty.
The longer you delay, the more you have to pay. So if you still have to send us your tax return, take action now.”
A further consequence of missing the filing deadline is that the enquiry window is extended, giving HMRC more time to initiate an investigation.
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