Permission to appeal to tribunal out of time

The taxpayer applied for permission to appeal out of time against penalties of £1 600 imposed for the late filing of her 2015-16 self-assessment tax return. Her appeals to HMRC were between 18 and 30 months late and she submitted her return on paper nearly 18 months late.

The First-tier Tribunal decided not to allow the late appeal. The judge said the taxpayer provided no evidence to support her explanation of why she had a reasonable excuse for the late return. The taxpayer had claimed in mitigation that her mother died shortly before the tax return or payment deadline she had an operation in hospital that prevented her dealing with her tax affairs she has life-threatening illness service issues with HMRC’s online services necessitated submitting the form on paper her home was demolished and she had a disability.

The judge confirmed that any of these could constitute...