Don’t be a tax turkey as more than 3,000 file their tax returns on Christmas Day!

On the one hand, it is good to see people getting their tax returns for the 2021/22 tax year in well in advance of the Jan 31st deadline, but on the other, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry about it.

According to data release by HMRC, In total more than 22,000 people filed their tax return between 24th and 26th December broken down as follows:

• Christmas Eve: 8,474 tax returns were filed. The peak time for filing was between 11:00 and 11:59, when 888 returns were received.
• Christmas Day: 3,275 tax returns were filed. The peak time for filing was between 12:00 and 12:59, when 319 returns were received.
• Boxing Day: 10,311 tax returns were filed. The peak time for filing was between 12:00 and 12:59, when 953 returns were received.

Of course, not everybody celebrates Christmas and so the downtime whilst others are gorging on turkey and sprouts, could be seen as being useful to get stuff done and then be able to relax going into the New Year.

The deadline to file and pay any tax owed for the 2021 to 2022 tax year is 31 January 2023, and HMRC is urging customers to submit their tax return on time or they may face a penalty.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “We are grateful to those customers who have already filed their tax returns. For anyone who is yet to make a start, help is available on GOV.UK, just search ‘Self Assessment’ to find out more.”

Of course, you don’t need to leave it until the last minute! Once the tax year has ended on 5th April 2023, you can start preparing your tax return whilst it’s fresh in your memory with the added benefit of having plenty of time to plan for any tax you may owe.

If you would like the peace of mind to know that someone else is taking care of your tax return, then we can take care of it for you, just get in touch and we can do the rest, although we’re not planning to do any filing next Christmas Day, we’ll help you make sure it’s filed on time and without penalty!