A million taxpayers miss filing deadline

Newsletter issue – March 2025

About 1.1 million taxpayers missed the deadline to file their self-assessment tax returns and pay tax that was owed, HMRC has estimated.

The failure to meet the 31 January cut-off leaves them facing fines. An initial £100 fixed penalty applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time.

Many thousands of others nearly missed the deadline, according to official data, with 31,442 returns filed between 11pm and midnight. More than 11.5 million taxpayers did meet the deadline on time.

Fines for missing the deadline increase after three months, with additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900.

It rises even further after six months, with a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater. Then after twelve months another 5% or £300 charge is issued.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Director General for Customer Services, said: 'I'm urging anyone who missed the deadline, to submit their return as soon as possible to avoid any further penalties.'

While the overwhelming majority of the returns were done online, significant numbers were still filing by traditional paper methods - some 304,000 - equating to 2.64% of total returns.