Growing Number of People Filing Tax Returns Early

According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the number of Self Assessment customers who opted to file their tax return on the first day of the tax year (6 April 2023) has more than doubled since 2018.

In fact, nearly 80,000 people submitted their tax return for the last tax year on that day (for income between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2023). Compare this to almost 40,000 customers in 2018. So a doubling in just five years!.

The final deadline for submitting a tax return is 9 months after the end of the previous tax year. So, as the tax year ended on April 5th 2023 - the last filing date option is online on the 31st January 2024. It's a long time but it moves fast and it's better to get financial affairs in order as early as possible to see where you stand regarding income, your payments on account and financial planning - not to mention beating the rush toward the deadline and not having to risk getting filing penalties.

Remember, you can always use our tax return estimate calculator to find out how much tax you could owe based on combined multiple types of income.

The phenomenon of last minute filer will always be around and just a matter of months ago nearly 900,000 people opted to submit their tax return on the last date possible - 31st January. Not many need that kind of stress.

HMRC are pushing people to file early in order to get the most advantage of setting up Budget Payment Plans - these allow those owing taxes to spread the amount into regular installments.

Remember, if you're is newly self-employed and have earned more than £1,000, or are a new partner in a business partnership, or have received any untaxed income or have/are claiming Child Benefit and you or your partner have an income over £50,000, then you may be required to complete a Self Assessment Tax Return.

Here are the full statistics on the number of people filing tax returns on the 'first day possible' over a six year period:

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