Hello. If, for example's sake, I set up a part-time sole trading activity in the summer of 2010 (from which I made a loss) and only registered online for Self Employment today, will I receive a penalty? It will now apparently take up to 5 weeks for me to receive a UTR, so there's no way I could file a Return online by 31 January. I didn't register earlier because I knew I would make losses (as still is the case and likely remain so for the next 6-months). I am aware that, in the past with situations like this, HMRC have extended the online filing date, giving a tax payer additional time to submit a Return and, so long as that Return was submitted within a specified period (say 8 weeks) no penalty would be issued. Does this still apply?
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You will have
three months from the notice to file a return being issued to submit. So long as you meet that there is no filing penalty, but there could be a late notification penalty. That said it is based on tax lost and where is the loss other than the saving by set off?
3 months...
As ACDWebb said, the statutory deadline is the later of 31st January or 3 months from the notice to file a return if you are submitting online, or the later of 31st October or 2 months from the notice to file a return if you are submitting a paper return.
Assuming you file within the timeframe from HMRC issuing you with a return, there won't be a late filing penalty.
Any penalty for late notification is based on a percentage of tax due, so would presumably be nil if you've made a loss.