More than 16,000 people filed their tax return over Christmas

HMRC has announced that Christmas was a popular time for people to file their self-assessment tax return, with more than 16,000 people submitting their tax return online from 24-26 December.

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This coincides with the results of our Christmas survey, which revealed that one in five UK business owners didn’t even take a break from work on Christmas Day.

When did people file their tax return over Christmas?

HMRC says that 6,033 Self Assessment tax returns were submitted on Christmas Eve. Remarkably, 92 of them were submitted between 11pm and midnight, while many were tucked up in bed waiting for Santa.

On the day itself, 2,590 taxpayers submitted their tax return. And, rather than getting to grips with any leftover food on Boxing Day, 7,655 people chose to submit their tax return online.

Don’t ignore the ‘niggle’ about completing your tax return

HMRC released the stats as part of its campaign to remind people not to ignore the ‘niggle’ about completing their tax return.

The tax return deadline is 31 January – we have a small business guide to Self Assessment tax returns if you still need to do yours.

Small business owners struggle to take a break

Our own stats over the same period (24-26 December) make for interesting reading. Whether it’s filing your tax return or the day-to-day management of your business, small business owners struggle to take a break.

The most read article on our Knowledge centre was our guide to what you can claim as self-employed tax deductible expenses, while our guide to Self Assessment tax returns for landlords featured in the top 10 most read articles over that period.

We also revealed that 20 per cent of UK small business owners didn’t take a break from working on their business on Christmas Day, with four per cent even physically going into the office.

Even if they did take Christmas Day off, 61 per cent still worked over the entire festive period (24 December-2 January).

Completing your Self Assessment tax return – top tips

If you’re yet to complete your Self Assessment tax return, remember:

• Do it sooner rather than later: the deadline is 31 January, and that’s a lot of time to feel anxious about not completing it. Completing it with plenty of time to spare alleviates that stress.
• January is the busiest time for HMRC: this comes as no surprise, so if you have any questions, make sure you leave plenty of time to ask them and ensure your tax return is accurate.
• You can’t pay your tax bill by credit card after 13 January: you need to get in quick if you want to pay your tax bill by credit card. As the ban on card surcharges comes into effect, HMRC has announced that it will stop accepting credit card payments altogether.

Are you ready for your self-assessment tax return? Leave a comment below.