Overview
- Missing the online filing cutoff triggers an immediate £100 charge even if no tax is due, with daily £10 penalties after three months up to £900 and further 5% or £300 surcharges at six and 12 months, plus interest of about 7.75% on unpaid tax.
- Nearly 340,000 people have paid via the HMRC app since April, a rise of about 65% year on year, and eligible taxpayers owing under £30,000 can set up a Time To Pay instalment plan online.
- HMRC phone lines are scheduled to close at 6pm on Friday, 30 January, with deadline-day support on Saturday, 31 January, available only through webchat.
- People must file if HMRC has asked them to, and others who typically need to file include the self-employed earning over £1,000, those with more than £10,000 in savings or investment income, and those liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
- Freedom of information data show letters demanding tax more than doubled to over 1.3 million in 2023–24, and Martin Lewis is advising anyone struggling to finish on time to pay a reasonable estimate before the deadline to limit interest.