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Late filing penalties
See what has built up, and what stops it getting any worse.
Being late is common, it is fixable, and nobody here is going to make you feel stupid about it. The single most useful thing you can do today is file — penalties for late filing stop the moment the return is in, even if you cannot pay the tax yet.
What has it cost so far?
Late filing penalties are automatic, and they keep growing until the return is in. This works out roughly where you stand. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How Self Assessment penalties build up
- The day after the deadline: £100, whether or not you owe any tax.
- Three months late: £10 a day for up to 90 days — another £900.
- Six months late: a further £300, or 5% of the tax due if that is more.
- Twelve months late: the same again.
- Paying late is charged separately: 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, again at six months, and again at twelve. Interest runs on top of all of it.
How Companies House penalties build up
- Up to one month late: £150
- One to three months: £375
- Three to six months: £750
- More than six months: £1,500
- Doubled if the previous year’s accounts were also filed late.
These are automatic and are charged whether or not the company traded. Keep ignoring them and the company can be struck off, which puts its assets at risk and is a great deal harder to undo than it would have been to avoid.
Common questions
Being behind, honestly answered
Can these penalties be cancelled?
Sometimes. HMRC will cancel or reduce a penalty where you have a reasonable excuse - serious illness, a bereavement, a genuine failure of their own service. It has to be appealed, with the reason set out properly. We do this regularly and it is often worth doing.
I cannot pay the tax. Should I still file?
Yes, always, and immediately. Filing and paying are two separate obligations with two separate sets of penalties. Filing stops the filing penalties dead, even if you cannot pay a penny yet - and HMRC will usually agree a payment plan once the return is in and the amount is known.
How far back can HMRC go?
Normally four years, extended to six where there has been carelessness and twenty where income has been deliberately hidden. Coming forward voluntarily nearly always produces a better outcome than being found, both on the penalty rate and on how the whole thing is treated.
Are Companies House and HMRC penalties separate?
Yes, and both can apply to the same late year. Companies House charges for late accounts; HMRC charges separately for a late Company Tax Return. They are different bodies with different deadlines.