600,000 miss the self-assessment tax return deadline

Of the 12,060,872 self-assessment tax returns due for the 2021-22 financial year, 11,733,465 were filed on time. Of those,  3,275 were filed on Christmas Day, with the peak hour on 31st January being 4-5pm, when 68,462 returns were received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Thousands of taxpayers left it until the 11th hour with 36,767 filing their tax returns between 11pm and 11:59pm on Friday, 31st January.

The deadline for filing paper tax returns was 31st October, but 10,965,993 taxpayers chose to complete their forms electronically, representing 96.2% of all tax returns filed, by the January cut-off date.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Thank you to the millions of customers and agents who got their tax returns in on time. Customers who have yet to file, and who are concerned that they will not be able to pay in full, may be able to spread the cost of what they owe with a payment plan.”

Self-assessment tax returns facts and figures

• 12,060,872 self-assessment tax returns due for 2021-22
• 11,733,465 (97.3%) returns received by 31st January, including expected returns, unsolicited returns and late registrations
• 11,399,465 expected returns received by 31st January (94.5% of returns expected)
• An estimated 600,000 customers missed the deadline
• 10,965,993 returns were filed online (96.2% of returns expected, following adjustments)
• 385,296 paper tax returns were filed (3.4% of returns expected, following adjustments)

Did you miss the 2021-22 self-assessment deadline?

If you have missed the deadline to submit a 2021-22 self-assessment tax return, it’s important to contact TaxAssist Accountants as soon as possible.

We will be able to ascertain whether you have a legitimate reason for failing to meet your self-assessment obligations on time.

If you don’t have a reasonable excuse for failing to meet your self-assessment obligations for 2021-22, we can work with you to prepare your tax return as soon as possible to avoid accumulating further late filing penalties.

It may be that you are not required to file a tax return. In which case we can sit down with you to cancel your filing requirements.

And if you believe you have made a mistake on a previous your self-assessment tax return, we can advise if you can amend it.

Date published 2 Feb 2023 | Last updated 28 Nov 2023

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