{"id":77477,"date":"2016-12-21T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T08:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=9b259c6f6a1fc7511f379db37084e872"},"modified":"2016-12-21T08:00:22","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T08:00:22","slug":"press-release-my-tax-return-was-on-my-yachtwhich-caught-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=77477","title":{"rendered":"Press release: \u201cMy tax return was on my yacht\u2026which caught fire\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

These include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cMy tax return was on my yacht\u2026which caught fire\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cA wasp in my car caused me to have an accident and my tax return, which was inside, was destroyed\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cMy wife helps me with my tax return, but she had a headache for ten days\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cMy dog ate my tax return\u2026and all of the reminders\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cI couldn\u2019t complete my tax return, because my husband left me and took our accountant with him. I am currently trying to find a new accountant\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cMy child scribbled all over the tax return, so I wasn\u2019t able to send it back\u201d<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cI work for myself, but a colleague borrowed my tax return to photocopy it and lost it\u201d<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cMy husband told me the deadline was the 31 March\u201d<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cMy internet connection failed\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cThe postman doesn\u2019t deliver to my house\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Self Assessment Top Ten Excuses<\/a><\/p>\n

    The reasons above were all used in unsuccessful appeals against HMRC<\/abbr> penalties for late returns.<\/p>\n

    Ruth Owen<\/a>, HMRC<\/abbr> Director General of Customer Services, said:<\/p>\n

    \n

    Blaming the postman, arguing with family members and pesky insects \u2013 it\u2019s easy to see that some excuses for not completing a tax return on time can be more questionable than others. Luckily, it\u2019s only a small minority who chance their arm.<\/p>\n

    But there will always be help and support available for those who have a genuine excuse for not submitting their return on time. If you think you might miss the 31 January deadline, get in touch with us now – the earlier we\u2019re contacted, the better.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    The deadline for sending 2015-16 Self Assessment tax returns to HMRC<\/abbr>, and paying any tax owed, is 31 January 2017.<\/p>\n

    Self Assessment customers can now also submit their return via their Personal Tax Account, it takes five minutes to sign up for an account: www.gov.uk\/personal-tax-account<\/a><\/p>\n

    Notes for Editors<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. If you are submitting your 2015-16 Self Assessment return online for the first time, you will need to register for SA Online. Registering for online filing is simple \u2013 you can do it at: www.gov.uk\/selfassessment<\/a>\n<\/li>\n
    2. \nHMRC<\/abbr> has previously announced that we will treat those with genuine excuses leniently, as we focus our penalties on those who persistently fail to complete their tax returns and deliberate tax evaders. This remains the case, although the excuse must be genuine and we might ask for evidence. The ten listed above were all declined on the basis that they were either untrue or not good enough reasons.<\/li>\n
    3. Customers who provide HMRC<\/abbr> with a reasonable excuse before the 31 January deadline can avoid a penalty after this date.<\/li>\n
    4. Help is available from the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk\/selfassessment<\/a> or from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310.<\/li>\n
    5. The deadline for Self Assessment returns is 31 January.<\/li>\n
    6. The penalties for late tax returns are:
      \nan initial \u00a3100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time
      \nafter three months, additional daily penalties of \u00a310 per day, up to a maximum of \u00a3900
      \nafter six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or \u00a3300, whichever is greater
      \nafter 12 months, another 5% or \u00a3300 charge, whichever is greater.<\/li>\n
    7. There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, six months and 12 months.<\/li>\n
    8. Follow HMRC<\/abbr>\u2019s press office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice<\/a>\n<\/li>\n
    9. \nHMRC<\/abbr>\u2019s Flickr channel: www.flickr.com\/hmrcgovuk<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Contact<\/h2>\n

      Press enquiries only – please contact:<\/p>\n

      Patrick O\u2019Brien
      \nTel: 03000 585 024
      \nEmail:       patrick.o\u2019brien@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

      Adrian Hallchurch
      \nTel: 03000 585 020
      \nEmail:       adrian.hallchurch@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

      Out of hours
      \nTel: 07860 359 544<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Each year HMRC receives a number of unusual excuses from Self Assessment customers who didn\u2019t complete their tax return on time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77477"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77477\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}