Whilst the majority of people, including contractor accountants, were tucking into their Christmas turkey, more than a thousand people were otherwise occupied, filing their online self-assessment income tax returns.
Data from HMRC also reveals that 102 people celebrated the dawning of 2012 submitting their tax returns. The fact that New Year’s Eve fell on a Saturday may explain why a total of 11,648 returns were filed that day, while 8,935 taxpayers decided to fulfil their obligations to the taxman on January the first.
Time is running out for people who have not yet taken the plunge and logged on to the Revenue’s self-assessment website. The deadline for both submission and payment is on January 31st and anyone who misses it will receive an automatic £100 penalty, even if they do not owe any tax.
Taxpayers who have not used the online system in the past are reminded of the need to register in plenty of time as it can take up to 7 days for their authorisation code to arrive. Furthermore, as the deadline approaches and more and more people log onto HMRC’s website, there is a risk of the system becoming overloaded.
Anyone who has problems completing their tax return should contact an accountant as soon as possible or get in touch with HMRC’s telephone helpline on 0845-900-0444.
Self-employed individuals are also reminded that Class 2 National Insurance contributions for the 26 weeks ending the eighth of October also fall due on the last day of January.
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Image: Rubbish by Bruno Girink
