Recent legislation changes have led to HMRC being given more power than ever before when it comes to penalising the tax payer and they have wasted no time in utilising these new powers.

For 2010-2011 tax returns submitted late, HMRC were able to charge the two standard £100 late filing penalties as in previous years. However, they also had the ability to charge £10 per day penalties for a maximum of 90 days.

This has led to HMRC issuing penalties of up to £1,000 for late tax returns.

As the paper tax return filing deadline of 31 October 2012 has now passed, if you are required to submit a tax return, you must file this return online by 31 January 2013 and with this arises the opportunity for HMRC to issue further penalties.

Any returns submitted after this deadline will automatically receive a £100 penalty.

In addition, surcharges and interest will be charged on any tax liabilities not paid by the same date.

If you have not completed a tax return online in the past, you will need online filing user names and passwords from HMRC.

It can take HMRC up to 2 weeks to issue these once you have registered online.

Given the deadline for tax returns filed online is 31 January 2013, the sooner you register with HMRC, the better.

If you need any assistance in registering with HMRC or completing your tax return, please contact Karen Robinson on 0161 975 6700 or karenrobinson@cullenfp.co.uk.