Martin Lewis issues urgent warning to act ‘ASAP’ as half a million risk bill for £1,000s in fines and penalties

MARTIN Lewis has issued an urgent warning to half a million who risk footing a bill worth potentially thousands of pounds.

Self-assessment tax returns for the 2022/23 financial year have to be submitted by 11.59pm tomorrow evening (January 31).

Tax is usually deducted from wages and pensions via PAYE but self-employed workers and businesses have to actively pay it to HMRC.

File it late and you’ll be hit with a fine of at least £100 though, plus interest on any tax you’ve not paid, which could clock up to thousands of pounds.

Now, Martin Lewis is urging anyone who hasn’t yet filed their self-assessment to do so on the double.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the consumer champion said: “Do you do tax self-assessment?

“If so have you paid your 22/23 tax bill yet. If not do it ASAP.”

It comes as recent research from Handelsbanken Wealth and Asset Management reveals 475,000 self-employed people think they’ll miss the January 31 deadline.

Meanwhile, as of January 23, data from HMRC showed around 3.8million people were yet to file their returns for the 22/23 tax year.

Who has to submit a self-assessment tax return?

There’s a range of scenarios where you might have to file a self-assessment tax return.

This includes if you claimed Child Benefit and you or your partner was earning over £50,000.

This is because if you or your partner earn £50,000 or more you have to pay some of your Child Benefit back through the High Income Child Benefit charge.

You also have to file if you were self-employed and your income was more than £1,000, say for example if you are a plumber or builder.

Those with multiple sources of income over £1,000 also have to file – this could include someone with multiple side hustles.

The full list of scenarios where you have to submit a self-assessment is:

• You were self-employed and your income was more than £1,000
• You had multiple sources of income over £1,000
• You earned £10,000 or more before tax from savings, investments, shares or dividends
• You claimed Child Benefit when you or your partner earned more than £50,000 a year
• You earned more than £2,500 from renting out property, or from other untaxed income, such as tips or commission
• You earned more than £100,000 in taxable income
• You earned income from abroad, or lived abroad and had a UK income
• You need to pay capital gains tax
• You received income from a trust
• Your state pension was more than your personal allowance and was your only source of income (unless you started getting your pension on or after 6 April 2016)
• HMRC has told you that you didn’t pay enough tax last year (and you haven’t already paid up through your tax code or via voluntary payments)
• You filed a self-assessment tax return for the 2021/22 tax year (even if you didn’t owe any tax). You’ll need to file again this year unless HMRC has already written to you to say you don’t need to
• You were self-employed and earning less than £1,000 but you still want to pay ‘class 2’ national insurance contributions voluntarily to protect your entitlement to the state pension and certain benefits

You can also use the Government’s online tool which tells you whether you need to file a return based on your circumstances.

How to file a self-assessment tax return

To file a self-assessment, you’ll need to register with HMRC first, which will then issue you with a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).

Bear in mind this can take a while to receive and may mean it’s too late to file your return without facing a penalty.

But you should still register as soon as possible so as not to face any added penalties.

Once you’ve got your UTR, you can sign in or register via the “Self Assessment tax return” section of HMRC’s website and pay any tax.

HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, not the date it reaches its account, including on weekends.

That means if you want to pay it by bank transfer you can do so up until 11.59pm tomorrow, but it’s best to avoid doing this in case of any technical issues.

How much can I be fined for filing my taxes late?

You’ll get a £100 fine for failing to file your return a single day after the deadline.

Then, a £10 daily fine applies every day you don’t submit your tax return which is capped at 90 days, or £900.

That means on top of the initial £100 fee, a £1,000 maximum late filing fine applies.

If you’re six months late, there’s a further £300 fine or 5% of the money you owe – whichever is higher.

After 12 months, another £300 or 5% fine applies, and interest is added on top of this.

On top of filing your self-assessment return, you also have to pay tax you owe for the 22/23 year and first payment on account for the 23/24 tax year by 11.59pm tomorrow.

A payment on account is an advanced payment towards your tax bill.

Miss the January 31 deadline and you are charged annual interest of 7.75% on the amount owed, which accumulates daily, starting on February 1.

We put together a list of eight tips to help you with your self-assessment return.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.