With just four weeks before the January 31 deadline, Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney has urged taxpayers to act now to avoid long waiting times on hold to HMRC and possible fines of £100 Alastair said: “More than 12 million taxpayers will need to complete their self-assessment returns before the end of the month. And with the clock ticking, there’ll be a spike in people picking up their phones to call the HMRC helpdesk.

“But it’s worth remembering that last year taxpayers spent around 7million hours on hold to HMRC, with an average waiting time of 27 minutes during January. And it’s likely that this would have been even longer for those phoning later in the month, as people rushed to file their tax returns ahead of the deadline.

“So while you might just be getting over a busy Christmas and gearing up for the new year, cracking on with your tax return might not only save you time, but also money. That’s because the taxman will start dishing out £100 fines to anybody who files their return up to three months late. And after that, they’ll start getting considerably higher.

“If you’re unsure if you need to file a tax return, it’s worth double checking, especially if you’ve been selling items on apps like Etsy, Ebay or Vinted — or if you’ve made money from investments, including rental properties, crypto and even tips or commission. To make things easier, HMRC has created a tool to help you find out where you stand.”

HMRC has outlined who needs to send a tax return if, in the last tax year (6 April to 5 April), any of the following applied:

  • you were self-employed as a ‘sole trader’ and earned more than £1,000 (before taking off anything you can claim tax relief on)

  • you were a partner in a business partnership

  • you had a total taxable income of more than £150,000

  • you had to pay Capital Gains Tax when you sold or ‘disposed of’ something that increased in value

  • you had to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge

You may also need to send a tax return if you have any untaxed income, such as:

  • money from renting out a property

  • tips and commission

  • income from savings, investments and dividends

  • foreign income

HMRC contact centre: 0303 1234 500

National Audit Office : 7m hours spent by customers and their agents waiting to speak to an adviser