One month to go until the self assessment tax returns deadline – or risk a £1,000 fine
THE deadline to submit your self assessment tax return is in one month - or you risk being slapped with a hefty fine.
Around 12.1million Brits are required to submit a return by January 31, but 5.4 million people are yet to file as of January 5, according to HMRC.
Last year about 11.7million people were required to submit a return, and seven days ahead of the same deadline, 2.1million still hadn't filed it.
If you fail to file and pay any tax you owe in time for the deadline, you'll be hit with a £100 fine on the first late day.
You could then be hit with fines of up to £1,000 in total in the first six months.
After six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater, will be applied.
Only those with a reasonable excuse are able to .
If you've already signed up for self-assessment, you can find your UTR on relevant letters and emails from HMRC.
HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, not the date it reaches its account - including on weekends.
So if you want to pay by bank transfer you can do so up until the evening of January 31, but it's best to get it out the way in advance.
If you need to change your tax return after you've filed it, you can do so within 12 months of the original deadline or you can write to HMRC for any changes after that.
Filling in your tax return can seem daunting, but with our step-by-step guide you'll have it sorted in no time.
On Christmas Day this year, 2,700 Brits people filed their tax returns, in comparison to over 3,000 people who did the same thing last year.
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Last year, HMRC hit hundreds of taxpayers with £100 late fines despite filing on time.
While in February, a woman got a £1,316 HMRC tax fine refunded after The Sun stepped in.