THOUSANDS of tax returns were filed over Christmas as the tedium of self-assessment provided an escape from the festivities.
HM Revenue & Customs has revealed that 1,548 people took time out on Christmas Day to complete their tax return online, a 40 per cent increase on 25 December last year. Another 14,300 people filed their returns on Christmas Eve – three times the number in 2011 – including 73 people who got the job out of the way in the hour before midnight. Boxing Day saw 4,685 people send their return to the taxman, a third more than last year.
The sharp rise in the number of people doing their tax paperwork over Christmas may not be down entirely to increased antipathy towards the seasonal festivities.
HMRC recently kicked off a campaign to encourage people to “do it today, pay what you owe and take a load off your mind”.
