According to figures from HM Revenue and Customs, a total of 160 people spent the final hour of 2012 filing their self-assessment form. In total there were 27,161 returns submitted on New Year’s Eve, with a further 12,077 completed on New Year’s Day.
HMRC reports that some anxious taxpayers also filled in their tax return on Christmas Day, with 1,548 people filing returns on December 25, up from 1,100 the previous year. The figure for Boxing Day was 4,685, up from 3,512 twelve months ago.
The surge of activity around the New Year is part of the build-up to the January 31 deadline for online filing of self-assessment tax returns for the year 2011-12. More than 10 million people are required to complete self-assessment forms each year and those who fail to do so in paper form by October 31 must do so online by the end of this month.
Those who fail to meet the January deadline face an automatic penalty of £100, even if it turns out they have no outstanding tax to pay.
