"I'm on the run from spies": the worst late tax return excuses


Updated on 06 January 2015 | 2 Comments

Taxman reveals ten of the worst excuses for missing the tax return deadline.

HMRC has revealed ten of the worst excuses it has received for missing the 31st January tax return deadline in previous years.

Many try to blame others for their tardiness, including pets, girlfriends, colleagues and even world leaders.

But these appeals have been, quite understandably, unsuccessful.

Here is the taxman's top ten:

  • My dog ate my tax return… and the reminders
  • I was up a mountain in Wales, and couldn’t find a post box or get an internet signal
  • I fell in with the wrong crowd
  • I’ve been travelling the world, trying to escape from a foreign intelligence agency
  • Barack Obama is in charge of my finances
  • I’ve been busy looking after a flock of escaped parrots and some fox cubs
  • A work colleague borrowed my tax return, to photocopy it, and didn’t give it back
  • I live in a campervan in a supermarket car park
  • My girlfriend’s pregnant
  • I was in Australia

Some appeals will be accepted if you have a reasonable excuse. Broadly speaking, this means something unexpected happening close to the deadline that was out of your control. For example, an unplanned hospital stay or badly-timed postal delays could be granted as reasonable excuses. 

Penalties

There's a fixed £100 penalty for submitting your tax return later than January 31st, even if you don't have any additional tax to pay. If the return is over three months late there will be a £10 daily charge for up to 90 days on top of the initial £100 penalty.

Further fixed penalties work on a sliding scale starting at £300, depending on how much tax is owed and the length of delay before the payment is made.

After six months, another penalty of 5% of owed tax or £300 (whichever is greater) will be levied and after 12 months, there will be another 5% or £300 fee, whichever is greater. Things can get pretty severe after 12 months when you could be charged 100% of the tax you owe.

But it doesn't stop there: there are also interest penalties for tax that is paid late. That means you'll be charged 5% of the tax you owe at 30 days, six months and 12 months.

Act now

If you have outstanding 2013/2014 tax returns, you need to submit them online before the end of January.

Have a look at how to get your online self-assessment tax return right for a guide to how to do it correctly.

If you have any further questions, you can speak to someone at the HMRC Self-Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310. It's open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am-4pm on Saturday.

Compare current accounts with lovemoney.com

More on tax:

How to get your online self-assessment tax return right

How to make sure you’re on the right tax code

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