Missed your Corporation Tax filing deadline with HMRC? You can still avoid late filing penalties

Have you been issued a penalty notice from HMRC for not filing your corporate tax returns? Worry not. You may still be exempt from late filing penalties if you are victim to a valid, excusable reason. In the UK, companies have to file their corporate tax returns in iXBRL format within 12 months after the end of the accounting period or within 3 months after the notice from HMRC. HMRC allows appeal for penalties for late returns, in the case of a reasonable excuse; they want to extend leniency to people affected by genuine reasons while simultaneously preventing deliberate fraud.

If the tribunal or HMRC agrees that you have a reasonable excuse, the whole penalty is waived. Here is a list of subjects that are considered valid reasons or reasonable excuses:

• Your partner or another close relative died just before the tax return or the payment deadline.
• You had an unexpected stay in the hospital that prevented you from managing your tax affairs.
• You have a serious and/or life-threatening illness
• Your computer or software has recently failed or malfunctioned while preparing for your return online.
• Service problems with the online services of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
• A loss from a disaster like fire, flood or theft prevents you from filing your tax return.
• Postal delays that you could not foresee.
• Delays associated with a disability you have.

There are also a few reasons that have been rejected in previous years. The following are some excuses that HMRC does not consider valid:

• You trusted someone to send your return and they failed.
• Your cheque bounced or your payment is unsuccessful because you do not have enough money.
• You found HMRC’s online system very difficult to use.
• You did not receive a reminder from HMRC.
• You made an error in the tax return.

About DataTracks

DataTracks is an international leader in disclosure management and regulatory compliance software and services. Seven of the top 10 accounting firms and over 13,500 enterprises across geographies trust our expertise in compliance to help them file reports compliant with the standards of regulators like the SEC (US), HMRC (UK), Revenue (Ireland), CIPC (South Africa), ACRA (Singapore), MCA (India), and EBA/EIOPA/ ESMA (Europe). With over 13 years of experience and 350+ accounting experts proficient in XBRL/iXBRL and global accounting standards, DataTracks is the perfect answer to all your reporting needs. To learn more about the services we offer and the solutions we provide, please visit www.datatracks.co.uk