HMRC charged taxpayers £325m in fines and interest for late tax payments last year as 600,000 taxpayers hit with penalties after missing 31 January deadline, showed analysis UHY Hacker Young.

Meantime, the amount of unpaid self assessment tax in 2023-24 return cycle was eye-watering. HMRC estimates that £8.7bn of self assessment tax was unpaid last year, 12.5% of the £69.6bn it expected to collect in 2023-24 tax year. In total, £44bn in business and personal taxes are currently overdue, of which 86% or £37.8bn is now ready for debt collection processes.

UHY Hacker Young warned that HMRC is unlikely to ease the pressure on those failing to submit their returns and pay their taxes on time as such large amounts of tax go unpaid each year.