Some HMRC help in the postal dispute

30 October 2009
The deadline for filing paper tax returns for 2008-09 is 31 October 2009, otherwise a penalty is chargeable.

But HMRC have said, in view of the postal strike, that paper returns hand-delivered on Monday 2 November 2009 will be accepted, as will returns held up in the post if it can be shown that they were posted before 31 October 2009.

To be able to show that a return was posted in good time, you need to obtain proof of posting such as a certificate of posting, or send the return by recorded delivery. That will enable you to appeal against any penalty HMRC may charge you if your return is delayed in the post and misses the deadline.

For individual (and trust or estate) returns, the £100 penalty for late delivery can, on appeal, be reduced to the amount of tax outstanding on 31 January, or cancelled if all tax due has been paid in full by that date. This ‘capping' of the penalty does not apply, however, to partnership returns, for late delivery of which there are additional penalties of £100 per partner.

No penalty notices will be issued before February 2010 but the tax calculation you receive from the tax office should warn you that a penalty will be due.

You will also avoid the penalty if you do not send in a paper return, but file online by 31 January 2010. You can use HMRC software for personal returns but not for partnership returns. Alternatively you can use commercial software for either.

So the message is, if you are lucky enough to have a local tax office, hand deliver the return; failing that post it as soon as possible and obtain evidence of posting.

Note, however, that the tax office will not issue a receipt for returns handed in. We take the view that this is poor customer service, as HMRC should accept some responsibility once the tax return has passed to them for internal transmission. In the absence of this taxpayers are strongly encouraged to keep a note of exactly when, where and (if known) to whom they delivered it.