Thousands of workers to be hit with £100 fine today – how to avoid further charges

THOUSANDS of workers are set to be hit with a £100 fine – here is how to avoid further charges.

If you missed the self assessment tax return deadline yesterday (January 31) you will likely be fined £100.

More than 3.3million people were yet to file their self-assessment form on Saturday despite only having a few hours to do so.

Taking to X this morning, HMRC said: “Anyone who missed the deadline should file their return as soon as possible to avoid any further penalties.”

That is because the taxman slaps late payers with extra fines when they avoid filing their return for prolonged periods.

For example, after three months, late payers will be issued additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900.

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Then after six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater will be applied.

And after 12 months another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater will be issued.

You can file your self assessment return via http://www.gov.uk.

Do I need to file a tax return?

Self assessment is the system HMRC uses to collect income tax for some workers.

For most employees, tax is automatically taken out of their wages, pensions, or savings through PAYE.

But if you’ve got other types of income or are self-employed, you’ll need to report it by filing a tax return.

You’ll need to send in a self assessment tax return if any of the following apply:

• You made over £1,000 from self-employment.
• You earned more than £2,500 from renting out property.
• You or your partner got High Income Child Benefit, and one of you had an annual income of over £50,000.
• You received more than £2,500 in untaxed income, like tips or commission.
• You’re a director of a limited company.
• You’re a shareholder.
• You’re an employee claiming expenses over £2,500.
• You have an annual income of more than £100,000.

Before you can complete and submit your tax return, you must also have a so-called unique taxpayer reference (UTR) and activation code from HMRC.

This can take a while to receive, so if it’s the first time you’re completing a self-assessment, register online immediately and ask HMRC for advice.

To sign in or register, visit gov.uk/log-in-file-self-assessment-tax-return.

If you’ve already signed up for self-assessment, you can find your UTR in relevant letters and emails from HMRC.

HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, not when it reaches its account – including on weekends.