The record number of taxpayers submitting Self-Assessment tax returns was beaten in January, it’s
been revealed, with a new high of 11.5million being reached. That’s quite some number!

But, judging by the figures HMRC released, somewhere between 0.5million and 1.1million failed to send theirs in by the deadline of 31 January.

Of the 12.1 million expected to file for the 2022-2023 tax year 778,068 managed to file on the last day, with 61,549 submissions occurring during the
peak filing hour and 32,958 filed in the final hour.

The key stats released…

A surge of bogus tax refund phishing scams is feared by HMRC officials.

The Government body has warned self-employed people to watch out for fraudsters who are likely to want to target the 11.5 million or so
who have just recently sent in their Self-Assessment tax returns.

Scammers will attempt to dupe people about tax rebates by email, phone or texts that mimic government messages to make them appear
authentic.

Designed to use personal details for selling on to criminals, or to access people’s bank accounts, these attempts to lure…

Scottish taxpayers earning more than £75,000 are set to pay a new higher rate of 45% from 2024-25. The Scottish Government has announced the change following its Budget. The change means Scotland now has six different income tax rates. The rest of the UK has three.

The ‘advanced’ band, as it has been called, will apply to those earning between £75,000 to £125,140. The starter, basic and intermediate threshold is set to rise with inflation, but the higher rate (43%) would still kick in at the same rate -…

You may have seen one of the early 2024 tax stories popping up in many of the national newspapers relates to a so-called ‘side hustle tax’. Is it really a tax? No. Yet we’re seeing it reported as a ‘New Year tax clampdown’ and similar such descriptions. Unfortunately, it has led to concern, particularly on social media where some people have perhaps misunderstood or misinterpreted what’s happening.

At the centre of this is new data-sharing rules coming into force this month that will affect holiday homeowners, delivery drivers, and…

Scammers are targeting people’s online tax accounts and attempting to steal
sensitive personal data, HMRC officials have warned. It’s been reported by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
(ICAEW) that various accountants’ clients have received emails, which are described by HMRC as “a tactic by scammers to direct people to
a phishing site and steal personal details.”

The emails purport to be from the Government Gateway and contain a confirmation code
to confirm an email address. “If such requests are received, these should be reported to…