Saffery Champness is reminding landowners, farmers and rural businesses that the new tax penalties for self-assessment returns are now in force for late filing of self-assessment tax returns.
Mike Harrison, a partner of Saffery Champness Landed Estates and Rural Business Group, says: ’The deadline for taxpayers registered for Self-Assessment to file on paper for the 2010/2011 tax year expired on the 31st of October, but they can still file on-line up to midnight on the 31st of January 2012’.
Saffery Champness says that the penalties for the late fling of tax returns have been toughened by HMRC and there is now a ’100 fixed penalty for submitting a tax return late, even if there is no additional tax to pay. In previous years the fine was cancelled if no tax was unpaid at 31 January.
Furthermore, if the return is over 3-months late there is a ’10 daily charge for up to 90 days; and fixed penalties have been replaced by a sliding scale starting at ’300, depending on the tax owed and the length of delay before payment is made.
Mike Harrison says: ’Time is running out for rural businesses to avoid HMRC’s new penalty regime - midnight on 31 January is the absolute deadline ’ there is no day’s grace this year.’
’Importantly, any business that has not yet registered for on-line filing needs to do so immediately. HMRC say it may take up to 10 days to process the registration and you cannot submit your return online until this has been done.
