HMRC concedes on penalties for late self-assessment

The pressure has been mounting on HMRC and the government to give a general amnesty for taxpayers who submit their 2019/20 self-assessment tax return online later than the usual filing deadline of 31 January 2021.  HMRC hasn’t gone that far but has agreed that anyone who can’t file their return by the deadline won’t receive a late filing penalty if they file online by 28 February. 

In its statement, HMRC hasn’t mentioned the penalties charged for those who were late submitting their 2019/20 paper self-assessment tax return which was due by 31 October. We’ll have to wait to see if it decides to retrospectively cancel some or all of them.  

The announcement doesn’t change any statutory right to have a late filing penalty canceled if the taxpayer have a reasonable excuse for submitting their tax return after the deadline.  This means if anyone can’t file your return by 28 February they still have the right to appeal against the £100 penalty that HMRC will automatically issue.