How are you doing with your Income Tax Return for 2024/25? Has it been safely filed or are you still working on it? With the statutory deadline of 31 January 2026 now very close, if you haven’t yet done it you are not alone. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has said that only 6 million people, just over half, have already submitted their Self Assessment tax return for the 2024/25 tax year. However around 5 million taxpayers still need to file. Are you one of these people?

While filing remains possible right up to the deadline, leaving matters late can limit your options if you suddenly find information is missing or if the amount of tax you need to pay is more than you expected.

It is worth being aware that submitting your tax return does not mean that you must immediately pay any tax due. Tax due for 2024/25 must be paid by 31 January but your return can be filed at any time before that date. This allows you to confirm the amount you owe and gives you time to sort (and afford) payment. So, in future years getting your return submitted asap might be something you aim for. But for this tax year what will late submission or payment actually cost you?

There are automatic penalties that HMRC will charge if the return is not filed by the 31 January deadline.

• An initial £100 late filing penalty is charged even if you do not owe any tax.
• If the return has still not been filed after another three months, daily penalties of £10 per day (up to £900) can be charged.
• After six months, a further penalty of £300 or 5% of the tax due is charged.
• After 12 months, another £300 or 5% is charged.

So late submission can be a costly affair, and its not always easy to lay your hands on the information needed. Add on to that how busy it gets on the run up to the end of January, and early planning and submission makes a lot of sense.

And it doesn’t end there. Penalties are also charged for late payment of tax, which always happens when a return is submitted late!  Five per cent of the unpaid tax is charged at 30 days, six months and 12 months after the deadline, alongside interest on the overdue amount, adding substantially to the cost.

So our advice is to get everything you need for your return collected together as soon as possible. Most financial businesses provide things like interest paid summaries very close to the financial year end so gathering everything together before June is usually possible.

At Kaizen we can help you prepare your return early and where possible reduce the amount of tax to be paid by closely following HMRC rules. So, if you want personal tax advice, information and guidance get in touch with us as early as May following the April deadline. Please contact us on 01482 772261 or email: info@kaizengroup.uk

If you have not yet filed your return for 2024/25 and would like help, get in touch right away and we will try to make sure you don’t miss the deadline, or at least reduce your fines etc.

To help with future Tax Years read our additional article “Avoid the last-minute rush. A guide to being more organised when it comes to next year’s tax return.”

https://www.kaizengroup.uk/articles/avoid-the-last-minute-rush-a-guide-to-being-more-organised-when-it-comes-to-next-years-tax-return

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