Options if You Missed the Self-Assessment Deadline
Updated 23 February
Did you miss the Self Assessment deadline of 31 January this year?
As we know, the past year has been anything but normal and the Self Assessment deadline was no different. On 25 January HMRC announced that Self Assessment customers will not receive an automatic late filing penalty if the deadline was missed
More than 8.9m customers filed their tax return before 31 January. If you didn’t make this date you have until 28 February 2021 to avoid the £100 late filing penalty. Interest will be charged from 1 February on any outstanding liabilities, but if you do owe tax you now have until midnight on 1 April to pay any outstanding tax or set up a payment plan to prevent a 5% Late Payment Penalty.
If you have concerns about paying your tax bill, you do have the option to spread your bill over up to 12 months by setting up a ‘Time to Pay’ arrangement. But there are some caveats:
- you will need to file your 2019-20 tax return before a Time to Pay arrangement can be made
- your liability must be less than £30,000; and
- you do not have any other payment plans or debts with HMRC.
To arrange this online, you should go to the GOV.UK website and log into, or create, your Government Gateway account. Alternatively, you can call the Self-Assessment Payment helpline on 0300 200 3822 (Monday to Friday, 8am – 4pm).
If you wish to pay over a longer period, or your self-assessment liability is over £30,000 you may still be able to set up a Time to Pay arrangement by calling the Self-Assessment Payment Helpline.
If you require assistance in completing your self-assessment tax return prior to 28 February or you have questions regarding Time to Pay please get in touch on our usual email address and phone numbers.
