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A taxpayer has urged HMRC to act after they wrongly received a fine for late filing of their self assessment despite not needing to complete the form.
The person first contacted the tax authority over X on May 11, asking for help as they had received a penalty notice despite the fact they were “not supposed to file” the form.
They said the fine related to the 2022 to 2023 tax year, saying: “I had checked the eligibility criteria, and it said I am not eligible to file the return.”
HMRC directed them to a form on this webpage which a person can complete and send off to inform the tax body that they no longer need to file a tax return.
The group said “that would also cancel the penalties” if they sent in the form.
The person got back in touch a few days later, to say they had yet to receive a response from HMRC.
A representative said: “If we accept your request then we’ll cancel the return and penalty you got for not sending in on time. Unfortunately we’ve no timescale to give here for this.”
The frustrated taxpayer said: “I understand this but at least some message would be great. I also received another notice dated 6th April now. First there is a delay in communication and second no response from HMRC.”
The person contacted HMRC again on May 22 to say their penalty had now increased to more than £120.
HMRC said: “Thanks for your message. If you’ve let us know online that you don’t think you needed to send us a return for 22/23, we’ll review this and cancel the return if needed which will automatically remove the penalties.”
The group also asked if they had submitted their appeal online through their personal tax account.
The individual confirmed this was the case today (June 6), saying ” I submitted the request online, but haven’t heard anything”.
HMRC then told them they would have to wait another month to find out the final decision, as they would get a reply around July 3.
The standard late filing penalty for a tax return is £100 if it is up to three months late – the amount increases if the form is filed even later.
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