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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has once again surpassed its record of completed tax returns with a huge 10.7 million customers submitting theirs before the 31 January 2018 deadline.

Proving increasingly popular with its handy tips and helpful advice, the department’s online service was used by 9.9 million customers – meaning more than 92.5% of total returns were completed online.

There were 758,707 people who completed their return on the last day before the deadline and the most popular hour for customers to hit submit was from 4pm to 5pm on 31 January with 60,596 returns received (1,010 per minute, 17 per second).

Thousands of customers avoided any penalties at the last minute as 30,348 customers completed their returns from 11pm to 11:59pm yesterday.

HMRC handled 195,260 calls over the course of the day but waiting times were kept at just 3 minutes and 6 seconds, meaning that hundreds of thousands of customers got the extra support they needed to meet the deadline.

Angela MacDonald, Director General for Customer Services, thanked customers for meeting the deadline and said:

It’s really fantastic to see that each year, more and more Self Assessment customers are getting ahead of the game and submitting their tax return before the 31 January deadline. But we’re not complacent, we want the number missing the deadline to be zero, and we’ll continue to adapt the process to make it easier and simpler for all our customers until every return is in on time and without avoidable errors.

If you’re one of the small number that missed the deadline, please submit your return now to avoid further penalties. We really don’t want penalties, we just want tax returns.

For anyone who still has not submitted their return, help and advice is available on GOV.UK or from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310 (open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 4pm on Saturday).

Background

Self Assessment summary:

• 11,433,349 Self Assessment returns were due
• 10,687,761 returns were received by midnight on 31 January (93.5% of total issued)
• Around 745,588 Self Assessment returns are still outstanding
• 9,916,430 returns were filed online (92.8%)
• 771,331 returns were filed on paper (7.22%)
• more than 4,852,744 returns were received online in January 2018 (44.8% of total received)
• 1,290,948 returns were received on 30 and 31 January (26.6 % of total returns received in January)
• busiest hour: 4pm to 5pm on 31 January – 60,596 returns received (1,010 per minute; 17 per second)
• 389,849 payments transactions were handled on 31 January

Penalties

The penalties for late tax returns are:

• an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time
• after 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900
• after 6 months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater
• after 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater

There are also additional penalties for paying late of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months.

Media contacts

Press enquiries only, please contact:

• Patrick O’Brien: phone 03000 585 024, or email: Patrick.o’brien@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
• Thomas Channon: phone 03000 585 020, or email: Thomas.channon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
• out of hours: phone 07860 359544
• follow HMRC Press Office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice

UK Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin arrived in Harare on 1 February. This is the second UK Ministerial visit to Zimbabwe since President Mnangagwa was sworn in in November 2017 and Minister Baldwin’s first visit since her appointment.

Minister Baldwin wants to learn more about Zimbabwe and better understand the context and the challenges and opportunities it is facing as it emerges from 37 years of rule by former president Robert Mugabe. The Minister will hold meetings with business representatives, politicians, human rights groups, NGOs and other members of civil society.

She will also see some of the important development work supported by the UK, including visiting a school for children with disabilities. She will see how the UK is increasing its work on reaching the most marginalised children with education, including those with disabilities, in the run up to the UK-hosted Disability Summit.

Minister Baldwin said:

The past few months have seen momentous change in Zimbabwe and it is a privilege to visit at such a pivotal time.

I am looking forward to meeting a wide range of Zimbabweans and hearing from them about the huge potential their country holds and the challenges that must be faced ahead of elections later this year.

The UK has a longstanding relationship with Zimbabwe and we are committed to working with the government of Zimbabwe for a bright, prosperous and hopeful future for all Zimbabweans.

Notes for editors

Minister Harriett Baldwin is the UK’s Minister for Africa for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.

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The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Sarah Newton, is encouraging more retailers to realise the benefits of employing disabled people as the government launches a new campaign to get retailers to sign up to its trail-blazing Disability Confident scheme.

According to the latest official statistics, around 123,000 vacancies exist in the retail and wholesale sector.

With the government’s ambition to see a million more disabled people in work by 2027, the retail and wholesale sector offers huge potential for disabled people.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Sarah Newton, said:

Disabled people can bring a wealth of talent and different perspectives to an organisation, and I want to encourage more retailers to make sure they’re not missing out on this huge untapped pool of talent.

Becoming Disability Confident sends a clear message to both colleagues and customers that retailers take inclusion seriously and value diversity.

We’ve made progress, but I want more retailers to sign up to improve equality of opportunity in this thriving sector and give more disabled people the chance of a fulfilling career.

The retail and wholesale sector is one of the largest in the UK, employing over 5 million people.

The spending power of the 11 million disabled people in the UK and their households – ‘the purple pound’ – is almost £250 billion.

The campaign will be spear-headed by retail sector leaders, including:

• the British Retail Consortium
• Sainsbury’s
• John Lewis
• Marks and Spencer
• Post Office

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium said:

The retail industry wants to be a diversity and inclusion leader in order to harness the talents of the whole labour market. Disability Confident is an incredibly useful scheme that provides practical support to enable retailers to recruit and retain colleagues with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident employer ourselves, along with some of our members, we look forward to working with the government to drive awareness of the scheme and increase the number of Disability Confident employers from across the retail industry.

Employers like Sainsbury’s are helping to lead the way, acting as a champion for the Disability Confident scheme within the retail industry.

Tim Fallowfield, Sainsbury’s Corporate Services Director, said:

As one of the UK’s leading retailers, we are committed to knowing our customers better than anyone else and a vital part of being able to achieve this is by having a truly diverse colleague base, reflective of the UK population.

Through our involvement in the Disability Confident Business Leader’s Group, we’re able to share our experiences and advice with other retailers with the aim to encourage them to have confidence in employing people with a disability, providing these colleagues with the opportunity to realise their potential.

We are very proud to have achieved the status of Disability Confident Leader, which recognises our hard work in this area, and hope to see a growing number of retailers sign up to the scheme.

About Disability Confident

The Disability Confident scheme, launched in November 2016, provides employers with the skills, examples and confidence they need to recruit, retain and develop disabled employees.

The scheme was developed with employers, disability charities, and disabled people.

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Since its introduction in April 2013, 170,000 households have had their Housing Benefit capped. Of these, 107,000 are no longer capped, with 45,000 households having moved into work.

The latest Office for National Statistics employment statistics also show that the employment rate is at a joint record high of 75.3%, with a record 32.2 million people in work.

There are now a record 810,000 job vacancies at any one time, a rise of 17,000 since last quarter and 60,000 a year ago. There are 340,000 more job vacancies than in 2010.

Work and Pensions Secretary of State Esther McVey said:

Our priority is to have a fair welfare system that promotes work, while caring for those who cannot – and that is why we brought in the benefit cap.

I’ve seen for myself how long-term unemployment can blight families for generations. Behind these figures are real people who have moved into jobs and are improving their lives for themselves and their children.

The benefit cap incentivises work, including part-time work, as anyone eligible for Working Tax Credit (or the equivalent under Universal Credit) is exempt.

Households where someone receives Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, or the support component of Employment and Support Allowance and those claiming Carer’s Allowance or Guardian’s Allowance are also exempt from the cap.

More information

The figures above relate to the number of households who have had their Housing Benefit capped.

The benefit cap statistics released on 1 February 2018 also include – for the first time – a limited set of experimental statistics on the number of households who have had their Universal Credit capped.

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The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster David Lidington MP will visit Wales and Scotland this week, where he will meet with business leaders and politicians to discuss the economy and the UK’s preparations for leaving the EU.

Mr Lidington will attend roundtable discussions with different sectors of business in Cardiff (Thursday, February 1st) and Edinburgh (Friday, February 2nd). The newly appointed Minister will also hold bilateral discussions on the EU Withdrawal Bill with both the Welsh First Minister and the Scottish Deputy First Minister on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of the visits to Cardiff and Edinburgh, David Lidington said:

I am very much looking forward to visiting Scotland and Wales. The UK Government is committed to building a Britain where our strong economy benefits all parts of the UK.

I know that businesses in Wales are excited by the opportunities that come from our plans to remove the tolls from the Severn Bridge. Our investment in broadband and UK City Deals are making a real difference in Wales and Scotland. I want to hear from businesses in Cardiff and Edinburgh about what else we can do to help drive economic growth.

I am also looking forward to continuing my discussions with Carwyn Jones and John Swinney on how we can make progress with the EU Withdrawal Bill in our face-to-face talks today. We need to work together to find an agreed way forward.

In Cardiff, David Lidington will co-host, with the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns MP, a meeting of the regular Expert Panel group of representatives of the businesses, agriculture, fisheries and third sector in Wales that advises on the arrangements for leaving the EU.

The Secretary of State for Wales has established the group to work with him to deliver a smooth and orderly exit from the EU in Wales.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

The UK Government is resolute in its commitment to delivering an EU exit that works for every part of the country, and to taking every opportunity along the way to further strengthen our precious union.

We have ensured that the Welsh Government and every sector in Wales have been fully and constructively engaged with the Brexit process, so we can together deliver the best possible deal for the people of Wales.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said:

I look forward to meeting the Scottish Government later today. The return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision-making powers of Holyrood. We have made good progress in our discussions with the Scottish Government on common frameworks and will continue those discussions today. We want to agree an amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which we can then bring forward in the Lords.

The Minister will also chair a roundtable of Scottish business representatives in Edinburgh on Friday morning.

ENDS