Upcoming Self Assessment deadlines & Tax payment details

The deadline for electronic submission of the 2015/16 Self Assessment tax returns (Being Personal, Partnership or Trust) is fast approaching. All electronic returns must be submitted by midnight on Tuesday 31 January 2017, and failure to submit your electronic tax return by this date will result in an automatic late filing penalty of £100 being issued.

As with previous tax years, there can be potentially significant additional penalties depending on just how late the tax return is filed, outlined as follows:

• daily penalties of £10 per day for returns over three months late, for a maximum of 90 days;
• the greater of £300 or 5% of tax due for the return period for prolonged failures (i.e. over six months late, and again at twelve months late);
• Potentially a higher 70% of tax due penalty where a return is over twelve months late and that person has deliberately withheld information necessary for the tax due to be assessed by HM Revenue & Customs.  This penalty could be up to 100% if the failure is deemed to be deliberate with concealment.

Payment deadline and how to settle the tax liability

Any personal or trust tax liabilities for 2015/16 are due to be paid by 31 January 2017. However, unlike late submission of the tax return, there is no initial fixed penalty for late payment of tax. HM Revenue & Customs will levy surcharges and charge interest (currently at a rate of 2.75%) for late payment, and the level of surcharge will depend on just how late the tax is paid.

HM Revenue & Customs will raise a surcharge of 5% of unpaid tax if the tax liability is outstanding at 28 February 2017. They will raise a further 5% surcharge of any amounts still unpaid at six months and twelve months after the due date. Please be advised that these penalties will be suspended where a time to pay arrangement is agreed with HM Revenue & Customs.

Turning to the methods of how to pay any self assessment liabilities for 2015/16:

Once a tax return is filed, HM Revenue & Customs should send out a payslip directly to the taxpayer which states the liability due and the methods of how to pay.

If the payslip is not received, or you wish to pay via online bank or telephone banking, payments can be made by using the details in the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill/bank-details

In addition, should you wish to pay online using a debit or credit card, payments may be made via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill/by-debit-or-credit-card-online

When making payment to HM Revenue & Customs it is important to ensure that you have your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) details to hand, and to make sure that your UTR is shown within the bank transfer / payment details reference box. This will ensure that your payment is allocated to the correct self assessment account.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that both the tax return is submitted and any outstanding tax liability is paid on time to avoid the risk of penalties and charges.

Should you have any questions regarding your tax deadlines, penalties or how to make payment, please contact your nearest Perrys office.

Article written by Gareth Bridgland