Tax returns: Missed deadline penalties could bring up to a million

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Penalties for missing the tax return deadline could bring between £500,000 to over a million pounds to the Taxes Office, as it is estimated that nearly 4,500 islanders missed the 18:00 deadline on Friday, and so could be fined £250.

Officials say that half of the people who missed the deadline do not actually pay a tax bill, some of them because of tax allowances, and therefore they expect that the penalties actually collected will be closer to the lower figure.

The 9% of taxpayers who missed the deadline is broadly in line with last year's figures, but far less than Friday's estimate when it was expected that around 7,000 Islanders wouldn't get their forms in on time. 

As officers go through the many forms that were filled in on time, the Taxes Office have announced changes in its opening times.

Taxes Office Helpdesk opening hours changing from Mon 5 June to Fri 29 Sept 2017. Closed Mon & Tues. Open Wed, Thurs & Fri 9am to 2pm. pic.twitter.com/pPBcue7kt9

— States of Jersey (@StatesofJersey) May 30, 2017

Fines for a late tax return might increase in the future as the Taxes Office is proposing that the Treasury Minister considers increasing the late-filing penalty to £300. In addition, that penalty could be supplemented by an additional penalty of £50 every month, for a maximum of 11 months, that the return remains outstanding. The proposal is part of the “Tax Compliance Framework” which is subject to public consultation until 16 June.