Statistics revealed by HMRC today show whilst a large number of people submitted their Self Assessment Tax Return within the paper or online filing deadline, a large number missed both.
92.9 percent of taxpayers required to submit the annual Tax Return did so within the deadline - thus avoiding fines and penalties.
The remaining 7.1 percent may appear to be a small proportion but still equates to around 734,000 individuals.
This will result in an immediate £100 late filing penalty, worth over £70 million to HMRC.
Full statistics are reproduced below:
- 10,340,000 people required to submit a Self Assessment Tax Return for income in the 2011/2012 tax year. (6th April 2011 to 5th April 2012).
- 9,600,000 people have submitted and paid, whereas 734,000 have not.
- 82.5 percent of submissions were online, equivalent to 7,930,000 tax returns.
- 17.5 percent of submissions were paper based, equivalent to 1,680,000 tax returns.
Christmas - A time for sorting out your finances?
Nearly 6,500 people use the Christmas break to submit their tax return!
The New Year's period also saw 39,000 tax returns submitted.
Online Rush?
The deadline day for online submissions was again very busy - as usual, with nearly 580,000 tax returns keyed in - the highest proportion between the late afternoon hours of 4pm and 5pm.