HMRC delays new VAT penalty rules
The first step towards alignment of VAT and direct tax penalties was due to take place in just two months but yesterday the government announced a delay. What’s the full story?
HMRC’s original timetable for the harmonisation of its late filing penalty and late payment interest regimes across most direct and indirect taxes was due to start on 1 April 2022 with the scrapping of the VAT surcharge rules. Following the announcement by the Treasury on 13 January this has been put back by nine months until 1 January 2023.
When the new rules take effect late filing penalties will be charged using a points system. Points will be added to a taxpayer’s record for each late filing and penalties will escalate the more points are racked up. For late payments there will be varying charges according to how late each payment is.
HMRC’s updated guidance about the new penalty and interest rules can be viewed here and here.
Related Topics
-
Tax relief for lending to your company
You can usually claim tax relief for money you borrow personally to lend to your company. It sounds straightforward but there are in fact a number of restrictions to trip you up. How do you secure the tax relief?
-
Who can't yet sign up for MTD IT?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) becomes mandatory from April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. However, HMRC’s current guidance makes clear that not everyone can sign up yet. If you are preparing early, are you actually eligible?
-
Pay self-assessment tax

This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.