We previously reported that around 10,000 self assessment tax returns were filed over the two Christmas bank holidays., but the Christmas and New Year breaks are now over and most people back into work... and over 5.5 million tax returns are still outstanding with the deadline at end of this month getting closer.
Nearly 90 percent of taxpayers opt to use online services to file their tax return and over 50 percent of taxpayers already have.
The official figures state that 11.5 million taxpayers need to disclose the income they received between the date range April 2017 and April 2018 using a self assessment. So far, just over 6 million taxpayers have done this and either have or will be required to pay the tax due including any payments on account by 31st January 2019 - currently just 27 days left.
Only 700,000 people opted to file a tax return by post, and to do so they would have sent the paper return before the earlier deadline of 31st October 2018.
Anyone with income over £100,000, income from property rental, untaxed (non-PAYE) income, self employed people, foreign income sources, large expense claims and/or child benefit claimants need to check whether they have submitted or need to submit a tax return.
Penalties are automatic, even with no tax owed, and a £100 fine is applied if the tax return is late. Penalties continue accruing after three months at £10 per day. Further percentage based penalties continue to accrue three months later.
On average a tax return takes over three hours to complete but you can quickly estimate your tax bill using some of the tools we provide free on our website and mobile apps - multiple incomes, property, capital gains and more are included. We also have a number of tax guides you may find helpful.