HMRC bosses spend £10k sending flowers to taxpayers to say sorry for screwing up their returns
In one year alone the total was £3,149 on florists - where the taxman made serious errors in calculating their bills
HMRC has spent more than £10,000 over five years sending flowers to say sorry for screwing up their tax returns.
In one year alone the total was £3,149 on florists - where the taxman made serious errors in calculating their bills.
Freedom of Information Requests shows that between 2014 and 2018 the service spent £10,298 on flowers to try and make up for their blunders.
revealed that past mistakes included sending a Stockport cafe owner a bill of nearly £1billion.
And they sent flowers to a pensioner who was due a tax rebate of £800 but was sent just £1.
A spokesman for HMRC said: "For some mistakes, a simple 'sorry' may not be enough and we think sending flowers can be a more personal gesture to put things right."
They went on: "We do consider financial redress, but in certain circumstances we may decide that it is more appropriate to send flowers. We deal with a wide variety of complaints including some from vulnerable customers or those that have suffered a recent bereavement."
Today is the deadline for filing paper tax returns - but customers who want to file online have until the end of January to do so.
But if you have earnings that are liable for PAYE, then you must file by December 30.
Failure to meet the deadlines can result in a £100 fine - which can rise up to almost £1,000 if you don't pay on time.
Do I need to send a tax return?
Most UK taxpayers have the money deducted from their pay packet - that is called PAYE.
But around 10million people need to complete a self-assessment tax return and send it to the tax office, or do it online.
People with the following status are obliged to complete the forms.
- You are self-employed, a business partner, or director of a limited company
- You're an employee or pensioner with an annual income of £100,000 or more
- You have a pre-tax investment income of £10,000 or more
- You are a minister of religion
- You're a trustee or representative of someone who has died
- You're a name at the "Lloyd's" of London insurance market
If you haven't submitted your forms online before then you need to register in advance.
To sign in or register visit the
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Self-assessment returns need to be filed for anyone who is self-employed and who earned more than £1,000 in the past year.
Families where one parent earns more than £50,000 and they claim child benefit also need to file tax returns.
Last year, around half a million people filed their tax return late, while a record 93 per cent completed their return online.
If you get emails from HMRC claiming you are owed a tax refund, make sure you double-check it's actually not a phishing scam before you give any details.
Recently a self-employed gardener was conned out of £10,000 in bank transfer scam by fraudsters impersonating HMRC.
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