Britons warned over tax deadline fines

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned people that they will be hit with a £100 fine if they miss the January 31st deadline for tax returns.

In addition, HMRC advised that forms submitted late will also be subject to interest payable on overdue tax, meaning that failure to complete the document by the end of the month could be a costly oversight, the Mirror reports.

The organisation has used a campaign of television adverts starring historian and presenter Adam Hart-Davis to publicise the deadline and is encouraging people to submit the self assessment tax returns online.

According to official statistics, about 150,000 forms were received by HMRC in the final 24 hours before the deadline last year.

HMRC has said that the adverts starring Hart-Davis, which use the tag line "tax doesn't have to be taxing", have been extremely successful in encouraging people to submit their assessments on time and have managed to promote a greater general understanding of tax issues.