Online filing totally secure, says HMRC

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that its online filing systems are perfectly safe to use and has rebuffed reports suggesting otherwise.

In a statement on the HMRC website, the department claims that newspapers and broadcast media that suggest its systems are not secure make declarations that are "completely untrue".

According to the HMRC, the idea was raised in the media due to the fact that certain MPs and a "small number" of other taxpayers cannot use the department's self assessment tax return service.

The statement claims that the "small minority" who cannot access the service are prevented from doing so by "additional internal safeguards" and that around three million people have already used the self assessment service safely.

"HMRC online services use the highest levels of encryption generally available and authentication processes similar to online banks," the department said.

Today is the deadline for anyone filling in a self assessment tax return, who was sent the form by October 31st 2007, to return it to HMRC, the department's website notes.