HMRC reveals 2,700 tax returns submitted on Christmas Day

07 Jan 2021

HMRC has revealed that 2,700 tax returns were filed on Christmas Day 2020.

Peak filing time on Christmas Day was between 2:00pm and 2:59pm, when more than 200 taxpayers filed their returns online.

20,200 tax returns were filed on Christmas Eve and 8,500 tax returns were filed on Boxing Day, HMRC revealed.

The deadline for submitting your 2019/20 self assessment tax return is midnight on 31 January 2021. The only exception to this rule is if you received a notice from HMRC to make an online tax return after 31 October 2020. In this case, you have three months from the date of issue to submit your return.

Those who are late in submitting their return face a penalty of £100, even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax has been paid on time. Additional penalties are due for continued late payments and late filing.

Commenting on the data, Karl Khan, Interim Director General for Customer Services at HMRC, said: 'Online self assessment means customers can do their tax returns at any time, day or night – even on Christmas Day if they want to.

'We're here to help customers get their tax right, and there's support available 24/7.'