Stop throwing your money away

Apparently there are still 500,000 Self-Assessment Returns outstanding for 2012/2013 (due to be filed by 31 January 2014). Including £10 daily penalties, at potentially £1,000 a Return that is a staggering £500 Million in penalties due to the Exchequer for 2012/13 alone.

Unless there is a reasonable excuse for the late submission the fines could increase further if the Returns remain outstanding. There is no statutory definition of reasonable excuse but to be accepted the excuse must remain throughout the period of non-submission.

Not very excuse is acceptable to the Tribunals. There was a list published recently of rejected excuses such as the old favourite’s “My dog ate it”. Some of the excuses were laughable but the bottom line is that without valid grounds the taxpayer’s excuse will be rejected.

The best course of action is of course to submit the return as soon as possible and if you are in that position or know someone in that position please contact us for a no obligation quote to bring your tax affairs up to date.