HMRC has found itself in trouble after mistakenly fining 653 taxpayers £100 for failing to submit their tax returns – before the deadline even hit.
When reports of wrongful penalties first began appearing HMRC was adamant that there had been no mistake, going as far as to say “any assertion we have sent early penalty notices to customers doing their returns online is false.”
They have since been forced to apologise, however, as it was found that a total of 653 taxpayers had been sent fines of £100 for not submitting their tax returns, despite the self-assessment deadline not having passed yet.
HMRC have stated that the accidental fines have been cancelled and released a formal apology: “Due to human error in processing some online trust returns a small number of trustees or agents have been inadvertently issued with late filing penalties.
“We apologise for any issues this may have caused our customers and are writing to them directly to let them know.”
In more specific details, HMRC has said that only those that filed returns on trusts that they manage on 2 January are the only taxpayers that may have been sent a fine by mistake.
Experts in the industry are pleased that HMRC “finally admitted there’s been a mistake,” and have expressed relief that the issue only affected the small number of people it did as it could have potentially “hit thousands or millions.”
False fines are not the only issue HMRC appears to be having either, as there are reports that their tax calculator has been informing some users that they owe no tax at all when, in reality, they do.