A4.552 Late filing penalties—self assessment tax returns
For the latest New Developments, see ND.1615, ND.1903.
The late filing penalty rules under the harmonised regime (see A4.550) is set out below. These rules have effect from 6 April 2011 in relation to any return which is required to be delivered to HMRC for the tax year 2010/11 or any subsequent tax year1.
The penalties under the pre-harmonised regime for late filing of a self assessment tax return were repealed, and apply only to returns for 2009/10 and earlier years2.
Note HMRC has announced that late filing penalties will not be charged in relation to 2019/20 self assessment tax returns filed before 1 March 2021. It has also announced a bulk appeal process for appealing late filing penalties for the 2019/20 tax return. See 'Coronavirus (COVID-19)―penalties for late filing of the 2018/19 and 2019/20 tax returns' below.
Overview of late filing penalties for self assessment tax returns
As discussed further below, the penalties for late filing of the self assessment tax return are:
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• fixed penalty £100 — automatically issued if return filed late3
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• daily penalties £10 per day for up to 90 days — apply once the return is three months late4
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• tax-geared penalties:
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— six months late — penalty of 5% of the liability to tax or £300 if higher5
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— 12 months late — tax-geared penalty depends on the behaviour of the taxpayer and whether the return includes foreign income or gains. If the failure to file is not deliberate