Edgware, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/06/2011 -- millions of individuals in the UK are required to complete a self assessment tax return on an annual basis. The deadline for submitting these returns online is 31 January 2011 and it is now too late to file a return by paper without incurring a late filing penalty. The deadline for filing a paper return was 31 October 2010.

Each year a large proportion of the tax returns completed are filed in the last month before the deadline, when actually most individuals usually have access to the relevant information regarding their tax affairs by the end of June. This causes problems for professional advisers and as a result for clients when trying to get all of the relevant workload completed in time.

Some of the benefits to filing your tax return early include;

1. The earlier your tax return is completed, the earlier you will know that tax liability you owe and can plan accordingly.
2. If you are due a tax repayment, you will get the refund earlier.
3. If using a professional adviser, they are likely to be less busy and therefore able to give you more time and probably better advice if you can complete your return earlier.
4. Leaving the submission late means that you can often be at the mercy of any IT issues or problems with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) servers.

Nick Tagg, Director at Wisteria and Chartered Tax Adviser commented “as advisers we are used to facing the January rush of individuals trying to get their self assessment returns completed by the filing deadlines. Most advisers have tried numerous ways to get their clients to send in the relevant information earlier, from using premium fee arrangements to stressing to clients the benefits of filing early. However there still seems to be a large number of individuals each year who persist in leaving things late.

If tax returns are filed late, there will be a penalty to pay, initially of £100. This penalty can rise if the return becomes significantly late, plus interest and surcharges can be imposed if the relevant tax liability is not paid on time. In the past, individuals could avoid a late filing penalty by ensuing that the tax payment was made by 31 January. However changes in legislation over the last couple of years mean that this escape is no longer possible. Individuals will need to file their tax return online and pay any liability due by 31 January in order to avoid a penalty.

Of course there are sometimes genuine reasons why an individual may not be able to file on time, for example serious ill health. HMRC recognise this and will reduce to penalty to nil where an acceptable reasonable excuse form is submitted. Such circumstances are however severely limited.

However individuals are advised to do all they can to get the information submitted well before the deadline. If you are having problems with your return, using a professional, such as a Chartered Tax Adviser or Chartered Accountant may be the best way to ensure your return is completed correctly and submitted on time.

Press Contact: Andrew Millet

Wisteria Chartered Accountants, Tax & Business Advisers are a firm of professional advisers based in London. They work with a large number of companies and individuals on their tax affairs and help clients in a wide range of circumstances, including the self employed, non-domiciled individuals and those with a tax investigation. For more information of Wisteria’s tax services, visit the website: http://www.wisteria.co.uk