1,000,000 Brits have less than 24 hours to meet HMRC deadline even if they already pay tax

One million Brits are risking being fined up to £900 if they fail to meet an important HMRC deadline tomorrow.

It doesn’t matter if you work full time, part time, or occasionally – you'll need to know this date.

Regardless of your tax status, if you make over £1000 each year, there’s something you need to fill out online to avoid receiving a little brown envelope in the mail which tells you you’re in big trouble with the tax man.

That’s because people in the UK are required to pay tax on anything above their personal allowance, which is currently £12,570.

So, if you’re employed and paid via PAYE, you’ll be taxed on anything over that amount – usually at a 20 per cent rate if your income is below £50,000.

You need to tell HMRC about your tax status (Getty Stock Images)

But if you’re also making money away from employment, whether it’s on a freelance basis, income from being a landlord, or becoming a business partner – you need to file what’s called a Self Assessment return each year.

October 5 is the last day anyone who made income above 1k in the last tax year between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, can tell HMRC if they need to complete a return.

Anyone who misses the cut off could immediately be fined £100, even if they don’t have any tax to file.

That’s because either way, you need to tell HMRC if you do or do not need to file.

If you do need to file, then you’ll have until 31 January to provide your total income and expenses.

The government website states: “We may charge you a penalty if you fail to notify us, or don’t notify us on time. If you ask someone else, such as an employee or adviser, to do something on your behalf, you must do as much as you can to make sure that a failure to notify doesn’t occur. If you don’t do this, we may charge you a penalty.”

But if you choose to ignore the notice, then you’re only going to be liable to pay more and more.

For example, according to the government, if by three months, you still haven’t revealed your tax status, you’ll be handed additional daily penalties of £10 per day, which can reach a maximum of £900.

After six months, you’ll have to hand over 5 per cent of the tax due or £300, whichever is more.

You could be fined (Getty Stock Images)

After one year of ignoring the date, you’ll have to pay 5 per cent of the tax or a £300 charge, depending on what is higher.

Eventually, this could even lead to a court appearance if you do not pay the fines.

The good news is that these penalties only apply for ‘deliberate’ acts of failing to notify HMRC that you need to pay tax.

For example, in any case where ‘you have a reasonable excuse for the failure,’ or ‘you told us without unreasonable delay after your reasonable excuse ended.’

“The people this will catch out likely won’t be deliberate avoiders,” Lee Murphy, managing director of The Accountancy Partnership, told The Sun of the offenders in question. “They’ll be people who started a business, began freelancing in the evenings as a side hustle or became landlords. None would immediately think of themselves as Self Assessment people until the letter arrives.”