As they did last year, HMRC has extended the payment deadline from 31st January 2022 to 28th February 2022. This is great for those who have not managed to get their return sorted by now but this extension should only be used if absolutely necessary.
The extension means that:
- anyone who cannot file their return by the 31 January 2022 deadline will not receive a late filing penalty if they file online by 28 February 2022
- anyone who cannot pay their Self Assessment tax by the 31 January deadline will not receive a late payment penalty if they pay their tax in full, or set up a Time to Pay arrangement, by 1 April 2022
However, it is advisable that you complete your tax return by the original deadline of 31st January, if you can, as interest will still be payable from February 1st as normal. It is only the late filing penalty that HMRC has extended to allow those with a valid reason to file later than the usual deadline.
HMRC has outlined the following self assessment deadlines for you to be aware of:
- 31 January – Self Assessment deadline (filing and payment)
- 1 February – interest accrues on any outstanding tax bills
- 28 February – last date to file any late online tax returns to avoid a late filing penalty
- 1 April – last date to pay any outstanding tax or make a Time to Pay arrangement, to avoid a late payment penalty
- 1 April – last date to set up a self-serve Time to Pay arrangement online
I asked our Senior Accountant, Connor Smith, what this means for our clients, he said:
“While this news will be a welcome relief for those who have struggled to get organised this year, we would encourage all of our clients to strive to still meet the original filing deadline of 31 January to avoid the interest charges.
Our team will ensure that returns get filed by the original deadline where possible, so if you receive query emails from us, please don’t delay in your response. If you’re yet to submit your tax information, you now have more options with your payment but you shouldn’t delay communicating with your accountant in the meantime.”
As always please do keep an eye out for emails from the team to ensure no delays and get in touch if you have any questions about your tax bill or how to pay, we’ll be happy to help.
