There are two upcoming final tax deadlines in January 2019, relating to the 2018 tax return:
- Submission of the 2018 tax return form, covering the year to 5th April 2018.
- Payment of the tax liability for 2017/18. Also payment of the first payment on account for 2018/19, if due.
Submitting a return after 31st January will result in fines being charged. These start at £100 and can easily rise to £1600 or more… even if you don’t owe any tax.
You will also start to incur interest charges and perhaps surcharges on any tax paid after the 31st January – however you won’t know what these are if the return hasn’t been completed yet.
Payments on account and national insurance are common amounts often overlooked. These can easily add 50% or more to the amount you thought you would have to pay in January…
It is therefore important to submit the outstanding 2018 tax return as soon as possible.
For future years, I always recommend that 31st October is taken as the final deadline. That way you know well in advance what tax is payable by 31st January and can budget for it. HMRC no longer accept payments of tax by personal credit card, so if you complete the return in January you only have a few weeks to raise the funds if not already budgeted.