HMRC has issued around 850,000 late filing penalties for the tax year ended 5th april 2012 which was due by the 31st January 2013. Remember the penalties apply regardless of whether there is a tax liability or not, the cap of earlier years has been scrapped.

However, if you can prove to HMRC that you should not have been sent a notice to complete a tax return then you can appeal against the penalty and it is routine for these penalties to be cancelled

Remember to also pay your tax on time as penalties, surcharges and interest applies to late payments

If you need help filing your tax return dont hesitate to get a quote from us

Only one-fifth of small firms ready for Real Time Information, finds survey

Employers ‘over reliant’ on payroll providers for compliance, adds PwC Only one in five small businesses are prepared for the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI), which is being rolled out from this April, new figures have shown.


Nearly half of small employers (46 per cent) had no knowledge of RTI, while a further 35 per cent said they were only vaguely aware of the forthcoming changes to payroll reporting, found the survey of 500 small enterprises by Crunch Accounting.


New RTI rules mean payroll information including salary, income tax and national insurance will need to be submitted to HMRC monthly rather than annually, and will eventually replace P35s and P14s.

The RTI scheme will be a requirement for larger organisations from this spring, but there will be penalties starting in 2014 for all businesses that are not compliant.


Separate research from PwC also claimed that too many employers were relying on their payroll providers to support their RTI compliance, raising the risk that many companies would not be ready for the April deadline.


PwC’s survey of 200 HR and payroll professionals found that virtually all (99 per cent) said that their organisation needed some level of support to ensure it was ready to start reporting PAYE information to HMRC in real time.


Half of the respondents expected their payroll provider to supply that support – but only one in four believed that their payroll company had prepared their RTI software.


The need for system changes and interfaces under RTI was the biggest challenge for employers (34 per cent), followed by data collection, storage and transmission (24 per cent) and resource constraints (22 per cent).


The majority of employers surveyed were also unsure of how RTI requirements would impact their internationally mobile employees.


“RTI is about more than simply the payroll software; the quality of the employee data and the processes for collecting and maintaining are critical to compliance,” said PwC’s HR director, John Harding.


“Payroll providers need to make it clear to their clients the extent of their capacity to provide support and the associated costs. Employers should not underestimate the challenge of meeting the requirements of both RTI and auto-enrolment by April.”

http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2013/02/only-one-fifth-of-small-firms-ready-for-real-time-information-finds-survey.htm

A record 9.61 million people filed and sent their self-assessment tax returns on time this year, with 7.93 million sent online, HMRC has revealed.

Around 10.34 million individuals fell into the self-assessment category in the 2011/12 tax-year, meaning that 92.9 per cent met the return deadlines of 31 October for paper returns and 31 January for filing online.

It seems that many left their filing until the last minute. HMRC received more than half a million returns on 31 January - its busiest recorded day. The busiest period occurred between 16:00 and 17:00, when 46,000 - the equivalent of more than 12 per second - were received.

The Christmas holidays were also a busy period for returns, with 1,548 sending their returns in on Christmas Day and 4,685 on Boxing Day. Around 27,161 were also filed online on New Year's Eve and a further 12,077 submitted on New Year's Day.

Those who failed to submit a return will have already incurred a £100 late-filing penalty, with additional penalties incurred after that. HMRC has advised those who have yet to submit their return to do so as soon as possible and pay any outstanding tax owed.

We can help you file your self-assessment tax returns accurately and on time.

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/