Roger share this latest news on behalf of HMRC. Ed
Most of our customers complete their tax returns honestly and on time but every year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives some outlandish excuses and expense claims.
Some of the most bizarre excuses HMRC received from customers who missed the Self Assessment deadline include being too short to reach the post-box and having fingers too cold to type. Here are some of the strangest from the past year:
Top five excuses
- My mother-in-law is a witch and put a curse on me
- I’m too short to reach the post box
- I was just too busy – my first maid left, my second maid stole from me, and my third maid was very slow to learn
- Our junior member of staff registered our client in Self Assessment by mistake because they were not wearing their glasses
- My boiler had broken and my fingers were too cold to type
As well as unbelievable excuses, every year we also receive some dubious expenses claims for unconvincing items like woolly underwear and pet insurance for a dog. Some of the most questionable include:
Top five expenses
- A carpenter claiming £900 for a 55 inch TV and sound bar to help him price his jobs
- £40 on extra woolly underwear, for five years
- £756 for my pet dog insurance
- A music subscription so I can listen to music while I work
- A family holiday to Nigeria
All these excuses and expenses were unsuccessful.
MacDonald: Making it as simple as possible
Angela MacDonald, HMRC Director General of Customer Services, said:
“We want to make it as simple as possible for our customers to do their tax returns and the majority make the effort to do theirs right and on time. But each year we still come across some poor excuses and expenses which range from problems with maids to televisions.
“Help will always be provided for those who have a genuine excuse for not submitting their return on time but it’s unfair to the majority of honest taxpayers when others make bogus claims.
“If you think you might miss the 31 January deadline, get in touch with us now – the earlier we’re contacted, the more we can help.”
The deadline for sending 2017-18 Self Assessment tax returns to HMRC, and paying any tax owed, is 31 January 2019.
Help is available on GOV.UK, from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310, or on social media.
