HMRC guidance on delayed paper returns
As the threatened national postal strike looms, HMRC have said that while the 31 October deadline is statutory and remains unchanged, ‘having a paper return stuck in a postal strike counts as a reasonable excuse under the guidelines’.
Further information can be found in HMRC’s leaflet SA355, Penalty for a late tax return.
The alternative for most taxpayers is to file online, in which case the deadline is 31 January 2010.
HMRC add that by 11 October a total of 1,940,924 self assessment returns have been received online since 6 April 2009. This compares to 1,597,340 online returns in the same period last year: an increase of 21.51%.
