We again remind you that the 2022/23 online self-assessment (“SA”) filing deadline is in nine days’ time on Wednesday 31 January 2024. This is also the deadline for paying any balancing payment of income tax and Class 4 National Insurance for 2022/23 and the first payment on account for 2023/24. HMRC has recently published guidance for postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal and is reminding crypto-asset owners to check if they need to file a 2022/23 SA return. And finally, we would like to hear from you about the impact of HMRC’s helpline restrictions on filing 2022/23 SA returns by the deadline. Recognising that many of you are busy filing 2022/23 SA returns, please get in touch with us when you get the opportunity to do so as we will be accepting feedback into the early weeks of February 2024.
Horizon Shortfall Scheme guidance
Advice from HMRC sets out that postmasters who have not received their top-up payment under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (“HSS”) in enough time to file their 2022/23 SA return by the 31 January 2024 filing deadline will not be subject to interest and penalties. HMRC has also set up a specialist team to deal with tax queries from postmasters. The team can be contacted by telephone at 0300 322 9625 Monday to Friday 8am-6pm.
As part of the HSS, postmasters may have received compensation payments during 2022/23 which need to be reported on their SA return as these are taxable. However, to ensure that the amount received is not reduced by tax, postmasters may also be due or have already received an exempt from tax top-up payment. Many affected postmasters have not yet received this top up payment meaning they would be unfairly subject to income tax and Class 4 NIC in 2022/23. HMRC’s guidance confirms that those individuals will not be subject to late filing penalties and interest if they file and pay late as a result.
Penalties and interest will not be charged as HMRC has undertaken an advance exercise to identify those affected. However, if penalties or interest are inadvertently charged, the advice is to contact the specialist HMRC team mentioned earlier. Any postmaster who has received a HSS compensation payments in 2022/23 but who has not received a notice to file should also contact them.
HMRC has issued a reminder to crypto asset users to check if they need to complete and file a SA return. With the use of crypto assets growing, HMRC is urging people to avoid potential penalties and check if they need to complete and file a 2022/23 SA return by 31 January 2024.
Anyone with crypto assets should declare any income or gains above the tax-free allowance on a SA return. Tax may be due when a person:
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receives crypto assets from employment, if they’re held as part of a trade, or are involved in crypto-related activities that generate an income;
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sells or exchanges crypto assets, including:
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selling crypto assets for money;
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exchanging one type of crypto asset for another;
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using crypto assets to make purchases;
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gifting crypto assets to another person; and
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donating crypto assets to charity.
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