Daily penalties for late 2024/25 tax returns are coming – act now to avoid them!
If you still haven’t filed your 2024/25 Self Assessment tax return, then read on! HMRC will charge penalties of £10 per day in most cases if they don’t receive your 2024/25 return by 30 April 2026. If your return shows that Making Tax Digital should apply to you, you also run the risk of falling behind under the new rules. Unless HMRC agree to cancel the notice to file a 2024/25 tax return, you should submit it as soon as possible.
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The normal deadline to file a 2024/25 tax return (if submitted online) is 31 January 2026. If you have missed the deadline, HMRC will already have charged an automatic late filing penalty of £100. In some cases a different tax return deadline may apply to you – see our guidance for more information.
What happens from 1 May 2026?
Late filing penalties increase significantly if a Self Assessment tax return is more than three months late, because HMRC can then charge a £10 penalty for each day that the return remains outstanding. This means that daily penalties for 2024/25 tax returns will normally start to be charged from 1 May 2026. The penalties will continue for up to a maximum of 90 days if you don’t file the return – so total daily penalties could reach £900.
Further late filing penalties can apply at 6 months and 12 months late (in most cases the relevant dates are 31 July 2026 and 31 January 2027 respectively) – each of these penalties will usually be the higher of £300 and 5% of the tax liability.
HMRC may charge higher penalties if the return remains outstanding more than 12 months after the deadline depending on their assessment of the taxpayer’s behaviour and whether the return should include overseas amounts arising in certain foreign countries.
What should I do if I have not yet filed my 2024/25 return?
Firstly, you should check that you definitely met HMRC’s Self Assessment criteria for the 2024/25 tax year, as if you didn’t, HMRC might agree to cancel the return. If this applies to you, you should ask HMRC to cancel the tax return as soon as possible – we explain more about this in our separate guidance on this topic. The deadline for requesting cancellation of a 2024/25 tax return is 5 April 2027. If HMRC agree to cancel the 2024/25 return all penalties for missing the filing deadline will also be cancelled.
If you do need to submit the return you should do so as soon as possible. If you submit it online after 30 April 2026, HMRC will stop charging the £10 daily penalties once they receive it. Bear in mind that, if you file a late paper tax return, the normal 2024/25 filing deadline was 31 October 2025 therefore daily penalties may already apply.
If you are self-employed and/or receive rental income, you should also check whether the new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules will apply to you for the 2026/27 tax year. This will depend on the amount of any ‘qualifying income’ reported on your 2024/25 tax return, therefore the later your return is filed, the greater the risk that you will fall behind with Making Tax Digital requirements. See below for more information.
What if I am having trouble gathering the information I need for my return?
You might be finding it difficult to get together all the information you need to complete your tax return, or you might have lost a document which you know you can’t get back. Even if you don’t have the full information you can use provisional or estimated figures if necessary. The actual figures should be submitted to HMRC to finalise the return when or if they become available. You can read more using about provisional and estimated figures in our separate guidance.
Can I appeal against late filing penalties?
As mentioned above, if you think you should not have been in Self Assessment for 2024/25, before you fill in a return, try asking HMRC to cancel the notice to file a tax return. If HMRC agree to this, any late filing penalties will be cancelled as well.
If HMRC cannot or will not cancel the return, you should complete your return as soon as possible to keep any further late filing penalties to a minimum. Once your tax return has been submitted you can appeal the late filing penalties if there is a reasonable excuse for filing late. Examples of reasonable excuses might be prolonged ill-heath or bereavement for example. HMRC can also reduce penalties (giving you a special reduction) if special circumstances apply.
We have more information about penalty appeals in our separate guidance. You have 30 days from the date of issue of the penalty notice to lodge your appeal. In some cases, HMRC may consider a late appeal.
What if I can’t pay my tax bill?
HMRC charge interest on late tax payments starting from the day after the payment deadline. HMRC also usually charge late payment penalties where tax owed under Self Assessment is paid more than 30 days late. These amounts are different to late filing penalties, therefore even if you can’t afford to pay the tax that you owe you should submit your tax return as soon as possible to keep the late filing penalties to a minimum.
HMRC may agree to a special instalment payment plan called a time to pay arrangement to help you pay your tax bill, but they will only discuss this with you after you have filed your tax return. Once a time to pay arrangement is in place no further late payment penalties will be charged provided you keep to the agreed terms of the plan.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
If you are self-employed and/or receive rental income and your 2024/25 tax return shows that your gross income from these sources is more than £50,000 then you are required to follow the new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules from April 2026 unless you have an exemption.
Broadly, this involves keeping digital records of income and expenses using software and sending information about your income and expenses to HMRC on a quarterly basis. The first quarterly update is due on 7 August 2026.
Therefore if your 2024/25 tax return shows you should be using Making Tax Digital now (you can check by looking at our page When does Making Tax Digital start for me?) then you should sign up and take the necessary steps so you can begin to follow the new rules as soon as possible. There is detailed information about the new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax system in our Making Tax Digital hub.
Where can I get help?
Don’t delay completing your tax return! If you need help, please visit our Getting Help page for useful information, including details of TaxAid, the tax charity which can provide free tax advice to certain people on low incomes.
