Are you worried about the notice received from HMRC that is a penalty of self-assessment or any tax fine is charged to you? You do not need to worry too much about such an issue any longer. This is because of the fact that this guide will help you to gather the basic information about How to appeal an HMRC self-assessment penalty in the UK. This will help you to delay the duration of payment which is a condition on you or even to reduce the number of fines or penalties that you might owe to HMRC.

Moreover, before we get our head further indulged into the discussion, we recommend focusing on the basic details that are imperative in such a matter to understand to avoid the penalties or reduce the number of fines. This comprehensive guide is designed just according to the needs of a beginner and everything that they must know about how to appeal an HMRC self-assessment penalty. This could possibly include a discussion about the reason for the HMRC fines you have received, how can you make an appeal, what can be a reasonable excuse, what is the time duration to make the appeal, and what if the appeal is rejected by HMRC. Let us get further delved into the discussion to gather more information.

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What are the Reasons to Receive a Fine from HMRC?

There can be plenty of possible reasons why you have received the fines are the penalties from HMRC. However, the most common reasons are any two of the following listed reasons and one of these might relate to your scenario as well.

1. Late filing of tax returns or making the late payment of the tax that is after the deadline of tax has approached.
2. You are in a position where you are required to file the tax returns, however, you were unable to meet the deadline for the tax returns.

How Do I Appeal a Self Assessment Penalty?

Once any beginner receives penalties or late payment fines from HMRC, the first thing to know is to learn about how to appeal an HMRC self-assessment penalty. Well, there are two possible ways to make the self-assessment penalty appeal in the UK. These include the following:

1. You need to fill out the appeal form SA 370 and send it to the HMRC via post-medium.
2. You can choose the online procedure or do it over a phone call, however, this is only applicable if your penalty amount is around the figure £100.

Moreover, whatever the case is you will have to provide the details that explain the reason for your late filing or why you are unable to file tax returns at all. The excuse for not filing must be authentic and not an old excuse for regular routine work. Since HMRC is very particular about the consideration of such excuses.

What Counts as a Reasonable Excuse?

A reasonable excuse is the possible authentic reason that you will have to mention to HMRC. This must explain why exactly it stopped you from filing before the deadline approached. The reasonable excuse could be any one of the following listed points:

1. Any major incident or natural calamity like a fire, flood, or theft that has stopped you to make the payment in time.
2. The online services offered by HMRC were not working on that particular day of the deadline.
3. You were trying to file the tax returns on time but your laptop or computer failed to do it.
4. You fall sick because of a certain severe disease on that particular day or after that.
5. You have to go through the loss of a relative or your partner’s death around the day of the deadline.

What Doesn’t Count as an Excuse?

There are several cases that are found to be explained with such excuses that are not at all considered by HMRC. These excuses will become a reason for rejection in case of appeals. Some common examples of such excuses are listed:

1. You were unable to be bothered at that time of the deadline.
2. There is a mistake in the tax returns that is made by you.
3. You were unable to know how to use the website and other platforms offered by HMRC to complete the tax returns.
4. You made the payment but it failed later.
5. You requested some relative or your partner to do your self-assessment tax returns but they did not keep track of the deadline.

What is the Required Time to Make an Appeal?

Of course, there is a set time limit by HMRC and within this duration, you will have to make the appeal of self-assessment penalties. Otherwise, the appeal will be rejected by HMRC right away. This is why you need to keep track of making the appeal within the duration of a month or 30 days. However, if you have a serious reason, you can delay the appeal. Moreover, late submissions are not quite appreciated or accepted by HMRC normally.

What if HMRC Rejects my Appeal?

There are several cases in which you make an appeal to the self-assessment late filing, however, the appeal is not accepted and HMRC rejects it because of certain reasons. There is always a serious scenario behind the reasons for rejection in such cases. If any individual experiences rejection, they mostly wonder about what to do next. Well, you can either look for an alternative dispute resolution or make an appeal to First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) within the duration of a month after the previous appeal is rejected.

The Bottom Line

Noe that we have gathered a fair amount of information about how to appeal an HMRC self-assessment penalty, we can bring the discussion towards wrapping up. There is always a certain criterion and track of points when it comes to dealing with HMRC. If you do not follow the instructed criteria, you might face rejection right away. By this, we mean that you will have to double the efforts and do the work all over again. We hope these few minutes of reading will help you to develop a better understanding of how to handle the appeal of an HMRC self-assessment penalty as a UK resident.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is about how to appeal against HMRC penalties in the UK, including the text and graphics, in general. It does not intend to disregard any of the professional advice.