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Top 10 Oddest Excuses For Sending In A Late Tax Return

It’s that time of the year again, the deadline for submitting a tax return for the 2013 tax year was 31st January 2014. If you were requested to send in a return and didn’t do it by the deadline, you will incur an automatic £100 fine – dura lex, sed lex (‘the law is harsh but it’s the law’ is the coined adage from the Romans).

10 Oddest Late Tax Return Excuses

HMRC revealed some ‘bizarre, exotic and flimsy excuses’ used by tardy tax payers but to no avail, their appeal for Mr Taxman’s mercy was firmly rejected as they all received a £100 penalty. Reading this hit parade of moronic justifications you can easily picture many HMRC’s employees trying to contain hysteric laughing fits:…

  • ‘My pet goldfish died’ – from a self-employed builder (sensitive soul, by the sound of it)
  • ‘I had a run-in with a cow’ – from a Midlands farmer (did he mean his wife, by any chance…?)
  • ‘After seeing a volcanic eruption on the news, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else’ – from a London woman (bet she still managed to muster enough concentration to watch TOWIE…)
  • ‘My wife won’t give me my mail’ – from a self-employed trader (blaming it on the wife, that old nugget…)
  • ‘My husband told me the deadline was 31 March, and I believed him’ – from a (gullible) Leicester hairdresser (blaming it on the husband, that old nugget…)
  • ‘I’ve been far too busy touring the country with my one-man play’ – from a Coventry writer (oh, the price of success…!)
  • ‘My bad back means I can’t go upstairs. That’s where my tax return is’ – from a working taxi driver (how does he manage to get in and out the car, I wonder…)
  • ‘I’ve been cruising round the world in my yacht, and only picking up post when I’m on dry land’ – from a South East man (not poor, by all accounts, and now in hot waters…)
  • ‘Our business doesn’t really do anything’ – from a Kent financial services firm (here I’m having to question that firm’s credentials… really?)

My personal favourite goes to a London accountant who really should know better…

  • ‘I’ve been too busy submitting my clients’ tax returns’

Ruth Owen, HMRC’s Director General of Personal Tax, couldn’t have put it more plainly: ‘If you haven’t yet sent your 2012 to 2013 tax return to HMRC, you need to do it online and pay the tax you owe by the end of January. With all the help and advice available, there’s no excuse not to’.

Remember, TaxRefundPro can help you whether your a Landlord, Self Employed or a CIS Worker, too. Get in touch, even if you’re in a bit of a pickle…

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