Late filing could net taxman £479m

A study has shown that taxpayers are set to stump up £479m for messing up their online tax returns.

The fines will be generated by people filing returns after the 31 January deadline, miscalculations and surcharges on unpaid tax from previous years according to research by Unbiased.co.uk.

This amount has increased by £26m on forecasts for 2008.

This year it is predicted £102m will be raised from people from late filing, £315m in fines for miscalculations made on tax forms and £62m in add-ons for unpaid tax from previous years.

Failure to get forms to HMRevenue & Customs will incur a £100 charge, with an additional £60 a day charge.

If the return is still overdue in July, a supplementary penalty of £100 will be added additional to the daily charges.

David Elms, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, said, 'The penalties for those who return their self-assessment forms late or incorrectly remain unforgiving, so now is the time to take tax action.

'Missing the HMRC’s deadlines inevitably results in hefty fines, and in the current climate more than ever we would urge consumers to avoid this by ensuring that their forms arrive on time and in order.'

In 2007, it was estimated that over 1 million self-assessment forms were filed late. Of these, the vast majority incurred a penalty of £100, and many more were subject to further surcharges, the study said.

This represented an increase of 16% on 2006, which showed consumers were still 'failing to take action and reduce the amount of tax they pay,' the study added.