Self-assessments break records

HMRC has revealed that over 10 million tax returns were filed in time before the deadline this year, easily surpassing 2013’s total of 9.61 million.

The standing record for the amount of returns filed online was also broken, as 8.48 million individuals chose this method, beating the 7.93 from the previous year.

Those filing online accounted for 84.5% of all tax returns combined. This also broke the record in terms of percentage.

This year also saw the highest ever percentage of returns on time ever recorded, with 93.4% adhering with the date.

HMRC revealed that they received 569,847 returns on the deadline date, making 31^st January the busiest day for people to file their returns.

The busiest hour was said to be between 4pm and 5pm, when over 12 per second were filed – 45,706 in total for this period.

A significant amount of individuals also seem to have left the task until the last minute, as 21,027 people filed their returns online between 11pm and midnight at the end of deadline day.

These aforementioned people will, however, have just escaped the penalties for late returns, which are an initial fee of £100. Succeeding this, there are further penalties at three, six, and 12 months for late filings.

Those required to file tax returns include self-employed individuals, individuals with over one income, and high-income parents having received child benefits after 7^th January 2013.

It should be noted that in order to register for self-assessment for the current or previous tax years, the self-assessment helpline should be contacted on 0300 200 3310.