There are now less than 5 weeks until the final deadline to submit a 2014 tax return (covering the year to 5th April 2014.)
The 31st of January 2015 is also the deadline to pay the tax due for 2014, as the 30th December 2014 deadline to have any tax taken through your tax coding is no longer achievable.
On 1st February 2015 a £100 fine will be due, even if you don’t owe any tax or are due a refund – the fine has for some years related to the actual form submission rather than your tax position.
After the 31st of January interest will also be charged on any tax not paid, and on 1st March there will be a 5% surcharge added.
Following on from that there are further fines and daily penalties that can be charged (and usually are) which could amount to £1600 in fines for not submitting a tax return when you don’t actually owe any tax!
It is therefore important to ensure that your tax return is submitted before the deadline, and any tax due is settled.
There may be the possibility of arranging a tax payment plan with HMRC, however if this is available it is a one-off arrangement that can’t be repeated. Interest will continue to be charged, but fines for late payment are not charged provided the terms of the arrangement are kept to – otherwise these will be reinstated.