RSM Tenon Group PLC : RSM Tenon responds to extension of tax return deadline

HMRC has announced that taxpayers will now have an additional two days to submit their self-assessment tax returns. The official deadline for submitting forms is 31 January, but a planned strike by workers on that day now means that the deadline has been extended until 2 February.

Paul Belsman, Head of Tax for RSM Tenon, said 'From this year, taxpayers submitting their returns after the 31 January deadline would have been hit with an automatic £100 penalty - whether there was any tax to pay or not. This is a lot of money, and with the possibility of this fine being incurred because of the planned strike, I think HMRC has done the fairest and most logical thing here.

'We know that people leave it to the last minute before sending in their tax returns as  last year 572,000 people left it until the day of the deadline to file their return online, with 50,000 filed between 4pm to 5pm.

'My advice is don't sit back and assume you now have an extra two days to file your return. This extension is for a good reason, and I doubt that HMRC will look favourably on anyone filing their return after the extended deadline.'

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About RSM Tenon

RSM Tenon Group PLC is an independent member of the RSM International network, the 6th largest network of independent accounting and consulting firms worldwide each of which practices in its own right. RSM International is represented by more than 32,500 people working in over 700 offices across more than 80 countries worldwide.