ACCA Reminds Businesses About Tax Self Assessment January 2010 Deadline

London, United Kingdom, January 14, 2010 --(PR.com)-- ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) says this date is also important as it is a payment deadline, when tax owed for the tax year 2008-09 (ending on 5 April 2009) must be paid in full by 31 January 2010. This payment deadline is the same whether someone files by paper or online.
Chas Roy Chowdhury, head of taxation at ACCA, says that missing the filing deadline will result in a £100 fine, and that only in exceptional circumstances will this be waived by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Chas Roy Chowdhury adds: “The annual tax self assessment calendar is more favourable for on-line filers, allowing them more time to submit their forms. So there really should not be any excuse to miss this on-line deadline, which is significantly later than the 31 October closing date for paper returns.”

If there are problems with getting the on-line filing completed, then HMRC Revenue & Customs will consider legitimate reasons for missing the deadline.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury adds: “HMRC will consider a reasonable excuse, such as documents being lost or destroyed due to theft, fire or flood, a life threatening illness or if there were computer errors with the on-line system that could not be worked around. But a copy of an error message will be needed in this case.

“Getting a penalty payment to be reconsidered can be tricky, as HMRC will treat each case on an individual basis. There are no hard and fast rules about what makes for a reasonable excuse. The advice is to be honest, keep all paperwork and make any claim as soon as possible.”

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