Late tax return penalty notice

For mobile users who do not have the PDF plugin or those who wish to print this document, we provide a separate annotated Self Assessment: Late tax return – Notice of penalty assessment.

We also include on this page below a Question and Answer decision tree on what to do when you receive a penalty notice. Try it out and see how you do.

A

This is the tax return to which the penalty relates. If you have already filed this tax return you need to check whether or not you filed it by the deadline. If you have not yet filed the return you should do so as soon as possible to minimise any further penalties being charged. If you don’t need to complete a tax return contact HMRC.

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B

The due date for filing the tax return depends on whether it is a paper return or an online return. Check the filing deadline on our section ‘When do I have to send my tax return to HMRC?‘. If you did file the return on time you must contact HMRC and explain this and try to find out why they have issued a penalty notice.

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C

This is the amount of the fine. Check it is correct. If you think it is incorrect, contact HMRC and explain why.

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D

If you still need to file the tax return you should do so as soon as possible. You should also consider whether you have grounds to appeal against the penalty. Read our guidance on this.

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