A record 93.68 percent of taxpayers managed to get their self assessment tax return completed and paid by the final deadline yesterday, midnight 31st January 2019. The day itself saw over 700,000 returns hammer through the online systems managed by the Taxman.
The final hour of work alone, between 4pm and 5pm, saw 60,000 tax returns filed, most likely by accountants getting the last client work completed.
Overall the online version of the tax return was completed by over 10 million taxpayers, representing nearly 94 percent of the total filed.
Any tax return missing the deadline last night would be subject to an instant £100 penalty, regardless of whether any tax was due. This would also apply if the payment required by yesterday was not made. Around 731,000 people missed the deadline so will see the penalty added to their tax accounts, an additional haul of over £73 million for the revenue.
Taxpayers with an acceptable reason for missing the deadline could get this reversed, but would need to get in touch with HMRC and be willing to provide proof.
Further penalties apply for tax returns and/or payments that remain outstanding at intervals of 3, 6 and 12 months.