HMRC Publish Guidance on New Penalty Regime for Late Returns

The Finance Act 2021 introduced a new regime for late VAT returns that will apply to VAT periods commencing on or after 1 April 2022 and to other returns at a later date.

HMRC have now published detailed guidance on the new rules. The reforms come into effect:

• for VAT taxpayers from periods starting on or after 1 April 2022
• for taxpayers within MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA), from the tax year beginning 6 April 2024
• for all other ITSA taxpayers, from the tax year beginning 6 April 2025

The new regime will be a points-based system and will operate in a similar way to motoring penalties in that the points will elapse after a period of time depending on the regularity of the returns.

For details see: Penalties for late submission - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/penalties-for-late-submission