Tax return deadlines are 31 October for paper returns and 31 January for electronic returns following the end of the tax year to 5th April.

Under the current tax regime tax return penalties for late submission is £100, this is now a fixed penalty regardless of the tax your may or may not owe.

Any tax outstanding will have interest charged and any tax due by 28th February following the 31st January payment deadline will incur a 5% surcharge of the tax outstanding.

If you wish to discuss fling a return or the tax return penalty, or perhaps you just need an accountant in Brighton give us a call or email and we will be happy to help, remember we offer a free consultation.

Businesses that are behind with their VAT returns have until 28 February to take advantage of HMRC's latest campaign, launched in January


Marian Wilson, Head of HMRC Campaigns, said: "If you should have submitted your VAT return and have not yet done so, this campaign is a reminder to bring your tax affairs up to date. But time is running out. After 28 February, if you have not submitted your outstanding VAT return and paid what you owe, HMRC will use their legal powers to pursue outstanding returns and any VAT that is unpaid. Penalties, or even criminal investigation, could follow."

Well over half a million businesses have to submit VAT returns to HMRC every month and the vast majority of them submit their returns on time. But HMRC report that there is a small minority who, despite receiving reminders, continue not to make their returns. HMRC are targeting this minority throughoutlate January and February, sending letters to advise them that if they continue not to submit their returns, their affairs will come under closer scrutiny.

HMRC claim that they recognise that there are many day-to-day pressures on those in business and keeping their VAT affairs up to date may not always take priority. They aim to help VAT-registered businesses understand their obligations as well as providing those who have got behind with their VAT affairs with help to put things right.

A number of VAT-registered businesses will have outstanding returns because their circumstances have changed, for example, they have ceased to trade, or have changed legal entity, and this is an opportunity for them to tell HMRC about those changes.

Unlike previous HMRC campaigns, this one has no special forms to complete. HMRC want to encourage businesses to submit outstanding VAT returns – and to pay what they owe – and they offer help, advice and support in putting things right. They also point out that it is usually less costly to make voluntary disclosure before HMRC makes a discovery.

Throughout the campaign, HMRC will provide businesses and their tax agents with information and guidance to help them decide whether the campaign applies to them.

Source
http://icas.org.uk/News/Latest_News/Businesses_warned_on_late_VAT_returns/

HMRC ’s ‘affluent compliance team’ is to recruit an extra 100 tax inspectors in its bid to clamp down on wealthy tax avoiders. The unit will target taxpayers earning over £150,000 and with wealth of between £2.5m and £20m, as well as those with wealth in the range £1m to £2.5m.

Treasury secretary David Gauke said: ‘HMRC set up the new affluent teams from some of the £917m we made available in 2010. The team has made a great start by bringing in £75m in additional tax that would otherwise have been lost to the country.

‘The vast majority of people pay their way. Dodging tax is immoral, illegal and unaffordable, and the minority who cheat are increasingly finding that, thanks to the work of the affluent team, they have made a big mistake.’

By the end of December the unit had brought in an extra £75m in tax – well ahead of expectations – with a target of £586m by the end of 2015.

Roger Atkinson, HMRC’s affluent teams director, said: ‘In September 2012 the government announced an additional investment of £5m, enabling us to recruit an extra 100 inspectors. We will recruit from within HMRC and externally, and the new team will be fully operational by April and focused on delivering an additional £75m a year.

‘We want to recruit people with external experience and appropriate qualifications for inspector and lead case director roles. We want people with recent commercial and corporate experience in personal tax to help us understand our customer base. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront, tackling those who do not pay the right tax.

‘Good quality intelligence is central to catching the cheats and so we are expanding our Affluent Intelligence Unit fourfold. This is very good news for all honest taxpayers.’

DATA SOURCE
http://www.accountancylive.com/croner/jsp/Editorial.do?contentId=2430531&BV_UseBVCookie=yes&channelId=-601055