Online Tax Returns up 10% in 2011
MORE THAN seven million people have filed tax returns online so far this year - an increase of around 10% from a year ago.
A spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had received 7,002,748 tax returns online by 30 January, compared to 6,334,956 a year earlier. Nearly 400,000 people filed tax returns yesterday.
The normal deadline for submitting tax returns is 31 January, but the taxman has said it will not fine anyone submitting tax returns on 1 or 2 February because of a strike today by HMRC call-centre workers.
Last year around 600,000 people filed tax returns on deadline day, but a shortage of call-centre staff to deal with taxpayer questions today will mean the number this year is expected to be much lower.
Common mistakes made by taxpayers when filing tax returns online include mistaking the HMRC web page calculating tax due for the year for confirmation that the tax return has been submitted, and using punctuation or pressing the "return" key when entering information about their pension provider, which causes an error message, HMRC said.
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