Self assessment late tax return

Wingo

Hi every body,
Put my paper tax return in the post on the 27th of October (due on the 31st)..last week got a late tax return penalty letter, i presume it got lost in the post and have written to them explaining as such..my question is-if they are giving us a choice of a paper return or an online return not due until the 31st of Jauary, why have i been sent a late return penalty notice ?
Thanks,
Paul.

chrismac1

You've posted this on Thursday 27th October, presumably it has arrived with HMRC on Tuesday 1st or later. Hopefully you have some proof of posting and did not merely put this in the second class post. If not, you were relying on the efficiency of the Post Office and HMRC which is not a happy combination. In the first instance, I'd try ringing them up and explaining what has happened, and seeing if HMRC have anything to evidence when they received the return.

One of the first things I tell all new clients is never to communicate with HMRC by post for any reason. I have had HMRC deny recorded delivery post, but they can never deny their own electronic date and timestamps saved on to the hard drive of your computer.