Tax filing penalties when self assessment not required

Ducking an HMRC penalty for late tax filing is an important administrative consideration for any taxpayer. Meg Wilson CTA, tax writer at Croner-i, examines three key points from the latest Upper Tribunal case where the taxpayer lost his argument over penalties

In R & C Commrs v Goldsmith [2019] UKUT 0325 (TCC) [2019] BTC 527, the Upper Tribunal decided that David Goldsmith had to pay two £100 penalties for the late filing of personal tax returns.

While it is unfortunate for the taxpayer that he lost his case, given the relatively low level of penalties, it could be asked why HMRC bothered to appeal the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) decision ([2018] TC 06284) and why anyone should be interested in the decision.

The answer is the potential repercussions for other taxpayers.