HMRC waives late payment penalties for Self Assessment
10 January 2022
On 6 January 2022 HMRC announced that they will not be charging;
- Late filing penalties for those who file Self Assessments online by 28 February 2022, or
- Late payment penalties for those who pay the tax due in full, or set up a Time to Pay arrangement, by 1 April 2022.
HMRC say that they have implemented the changes in order to;
“Give customers and their representatives additional time if they need it and will operate in the same way as the equivalent waivers last year.”
However, HMRC is encouraging customers to file and pay on time if they can.
In the announcement, HMRC clarified that there will be no change to the filing or payment deadline and other obligations are not affected. This means that:
- Interest will be charged on late payment. See our news on this increase to the late payment interest rate here.
- A return received online in February will be treated as a return received late with a valid reasonable excuse for the lateness.
- This means for returns filed after 28 February 2022 , the other late filing penalties will operate as usual
- A 5% late payment penalty will be charged is tax is outstanding with no Time to Pay arranged by 1 April 2022
- HMRC will not charge late filing penalties for SA700s and SA970s received in February
- For SA800s and SA900s HMRC will not charge a late filing penalty if customers file online by the end of February.
- Self-employed customers who need to claim certain contributory benefits soon after 31 January 2022 need to ensure their annual Class 2 National Insurance contributions are paid on time to ensure their claims are unaffected
Aspire Comment:
The announcement will come as welcome news to many who require extra time to file their returns. That said, it is important that all taxpayers are aware of their obligations to HMRC and comply with all deadlines in order to ensure that they do not become liable to pay penalties.
Get in touch with one of our advisors today on 0121 445 6178 or email us at enquire@aspirepartnership.co.uk to discuss how we can support your business.