'Still time' for late tax return filers

Date: 30th January 2008

People who are yet to submit their tax returns have been advised that there is still time to avoid the £100 penalty from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

According to the BBC, over three million people have already filed their self assessment tax returns using the online system, while many more have sent in paper documents.

However, there are always some who leave it to the last minute but manage to make the cut-off point, with an HMRC spokesperson stating that 150,000 people filed their returns on deadline day last year.

In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has suggested that even people who narrowly miss the deadline could escape a penalty due to a "quirk in the rules".

"As long as the form is at the tax office by midnight on February 1st or filed electronically by then, no penalty will be incurred even though it is technically late," said the ICAEW's Anita Monteith.

HMRC has launched a last-minute campaign to encourage people to submit their forms on time, placing adverts on roadsides, in London tube stations and next to cash machines.

Earlier this month, the organisation used a giant inflatable calendar to publicise the deadline.