Instructions by HM Revenue and Customs on the penalty position for the late filing of self assessment tax returns have not been clearly set out on the tax returns themselves.

The normal filing date for a self assessment tax return for 2008/09 is 31 January 2010.  If this filing date is not met, a penalty of £100 will be chargeable but this is restricted to the amount of tax unpaid as at 31 January 2010.

Instructions given by HM Revenue and Customs do not refer to the capping which may be considered to be misleading.

Please note that capping does not apply to the late filing of any partnership tax return where the penalty is £100 per partner.

Posted on 05 Nov 2009