Self-assessment: Fines
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2025 to Question 77620 on Self-assessment: Fines, whether her Department plans to consult on the new penalty regime for the (a) late filing of Self Assessment returns and (b) late payment of Income Tax; and when she plan to introduce the new regimes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
The previous government held three public consultations between 2016 and 2018 on reforms to late filing and late payment penalties.
Following this, penalty reform was introduced for VAT customers in 2023 as part of Making Tax Digital. The same approach will be extended to Income Tax Self Assessment customers as follows:
- From April 2026: businesses with qualifying income over £50,000
- From April 2027: businesses with qualifying income over £30,000
- From April 2028: businesses with qualifying income over £20,000
The government will confirm in due course when the remaining Income Tax Self Assessment customers will move to the new penalty approach.
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