A record number of business owners are anticipated to submit their tax returns on Christmas day, continuing a trend that sees business owners working through the festive season to settle their tax affairs before the deadline
In 2017, 2,590 business owners filed their tax returns on Christmas day, a 33% increase on the 1,944 who did so in 2016. The number who have done so has increased every year since 2014.
Additionally, more than 6,000 business owners spent Christmas Eve 2017 filing their returns, with 92 filing them between the hours of 11pm and midnight.
Emily Coltman FCA, chief accountant at software company FreeAgent, recommends that business owners make sure they are registered in order to meet the filing deadlines, saying: ‘If you have not already gone through this process, you need to do so and it can take a few weeks for your activation PIN to arrive through the post, and HMRC will not give you the information over the phone’.
She also recommends that taxpayers collect ‘all the necessary information’ that may be needed, and consulting with a tax advisor or checking HMRC guidance, and says that ‘there are many rules and regulations when it comes to tax, so make sure you follow these to the letter when completing your tax return’.
Ed Molyneux, CEO of FreeAgent, said: ‘Instead of indulging in the Christmas festivities, increasing numbers of people in the UK are celebrating the festive season by choosing to file their dreaded tax returns.
‘Christmas is often a busy time for business owners, who have to juggle their business responsibilities alongside social commitments. As we get caught up in the seasonal festivities it is easy to see how completing your tax return can get pushed to the bottom of the to-do list, but the 31 January 2019 deadline comes around quicker than you think.’
‘The real benefit of filing a self assessment tax return over the festive season is that business owners can have complete peace of mind for the new year and actually look forward to January, instead of scrambling at the last minute to meet the tax deadline at the end of the month.
‘In addition to this, they can also spend more time concentrating on other parts of their businesses, which will leave them in a much better position for the rest of the next year.’
The deadline for self assessment tax returns is the 31 January 2019, with those who fail to complete a return by that date facing an automatic fine of £100.
Report by James Bunney