Has HMRC online filing fallen over ?

No responses to CT or SA eFiling after 10:00

Didn't find your answer?

From 10:00 CT and SA eFiling submissions are just polling for responses.

Is anyone else getting the same problem?

I assume the issue is at HMRC side

Replies (18)

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By Wanderer
31st Mar 2021 23:36

Of course HMRC systems have fallen over! What else do we expect? It's 31 March - an important day for CT filing.

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By Paul Crowley
01st Apr 2021 00:03

How the F are HMRC expecting to cope once a quarter with MTD ITSA
A damn sight more of them than March companies

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By JulietW
01st Apr 2021 00:18

Phew! So it's not me then. Just had to do a reinstall of my tax software and I was worried that I'd effed something up.

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Sparkly Orange
By Sparkly
01st Apr 2021 00:24

Companies House also seemed to be suffering around 11.40pm. Today's deadline (well yesterday's now) was far worse for me this year than the 31st January deadline (yes I know it was pushed back to 28th February but I was worried about SEISS eligibility potential at the time, for my clients so I still stuck to 31st January)

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Replying to Sparkly:
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By Paul Crowley
01st Apr 2021 16:27

Earlier than that. My last one was 23.20 and appeared to fail
Difference yesterday was need to do both filing, Co house and HMRC

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By DKB-Sheffield
01st Apr 2021 00:47

What a farce!

One set of accounts and one CT return not accepted by 23:59pm (despite waiting most of the day for the acciunts). I did manage to rush a set through - which has been polling since lunchtime - using the CH Online filing system (which I hate using as the filed accounts always look so amateur). I just didn't have time to do the same with the other (and couldn't have done anything about the CT anyway).

I suspect late filing penalties will be raised. HMRC/ CH will blame software providers. They will in turn blame HMRC/ CH. Then both will blame us. The screenshots I've taken won't be worth a fig. The penalties will stand and I will have no choice other than to reimburse clients for them. All in all a very profitable penalty day for UKPLC! Is this how they're going to pay for SEISS/ CJRS etc.?

Roll on MTD ITSA/ MTD CTSA. It's not as if we've got nothing better to worry about than inadequate systems! Every quarter, less than a month to turn round figures for every client, additional software costs, additional time, and will it be UKPLC, clients or ourselves who are left to foot the bill? I can almost guarantee it being the latter much of the time. And then we're having to try and compete with the multitude of companies out there offering a "full and unlimited accountancy service with dedicated unlimited support from a CA" for £20 a month. Talk about a race to the bottom!!!

Anyway, whinge over. Fingers crossed CH and HMRC will accept that they're inadequate systems are our reasonable excuse!!!

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Replying to DKB-Sheffield:
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By thevaliant
01st Apr 2021 00:58

Although I won't comment on the other stuff, my personal view is leaving it to the last day to file is foolish.

Yes, yes. I know another manager who says, "You get nine [twelve] months to file, therefore filing at 5pm on deadline is perfectly acceptable."
Is it really? Does it hurt to file on the 27th or 28th?

And if any client wasn't getting me the information till the morning of the 31st March 2021 for a 31st March 2020 year end, I'd make damn well sure they are paying any penalty. How many of us here have the 'if it ain't with me by the 15th Jan, I'm not going to get it in on time' attitude? Well, why not the same for CoHouse filings.

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Replying to thevaliant:
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By DKB-Sheffield
01st Apr 2021 01:55

Hi

Thank you for your response.

Clearly I do not question the issue of late presentation of information. Nor do I deny that early filing is preferred. However, I have never bought into the idea of penalising (or refusing) clients on the grounds late submission of information. If there is any way I can possibly (even move mountains) file on time, I will.

HOWEVER.. the issue here is a different one. If HMRC/ CH are going to penalise (financially, or by marking a late return, or by logging accounts as being filed a day late on the public register), they MUST do so from a reasonably justified position. Both HMRC and CH have a 23:59 cutoff. So submissions made - say by 23:30 - should almost certainly be accepted or rejected by 23:59 (generally MUCH quicker).

Today however, they have effectively shut up shop early because their systems are simply unable to cope. They haven't issued a notification to say that the deadline has been change to 2pm. As a result, many accounts and returns, submitted on time, are deemed late - whether or not a financial penalty is raised.

By contrast, if the terms of a contractual agreement require signed acceptance, to be delivered to a company's office by 5pm, and were that acceptance to be delivered at 4:59pm, the said acceptance could not be rejected on the grounds that it was not received before the office had to close unexpectedly at 2pm! Any attempts to suggest otherwise would be laughed out of court!

Simply put... any penalties should be levied for failure to comply with regulation NOT where attempts to comply with thise regulations are thwarted by system glitches/ pressures - no matter how close to the deadline those attempts are. After all, the penalty for breaking the speed limit isn't handed down to someone travelling at 29mph... "because it's close enough to 30"!

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Replying to thevaliant:
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By rmillaree
01st Apr 2021 09:21

"Although I won't comment on the other stuff, my personal view is leaving it to the last day to file is foolish."

If you went to the bank that was advertised as being closed at 4pm and found it was closed at 3pm would you be mildly annoyed?
If you went to the post box at 4.30 pm that says post will leave at 5pm would you be annoyed?
If a client turns up on the last day with records and we get stuff completed are you saying we should not file due to that being a foolish thing to do on the last day.

I think we would all agree its not ideal to be filing on a deadline day where that can be avoided but with mandated stuff really hmrc should be ensuring they provide a basic level of customer services where if their stuff doenst work they provide timely update (they have the functionality after all but there was didly squat on the relevant on line services isues webpage which is the most frustrating thing here)
Any if they decide to close and not accept stuff on they day we told us we coudl file they sghluld make damn well sure they are not penalising anyone.

Are the people here who were trying to file yeterday foolish - i would say it would be a fool who is so presumptious to presume that this is the case without knowing the circumstances of why the filing was being done then. Being frank if they say they are open for business i thinks its ridiculous to think that we shouldnt expect them to be open for business on one of the 5 busiest days of the year as advertised !! - if they choose not to be open for buisness we should be expecting an apology explanation and assistance ref any consequential issues- i would expect this of any orgaisation that has "customers".

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Replying to rmillaree:
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By thevaliant
01st Apr 2021 10:17

"If you went to the bank that was advertised as being closed at 4pm and found it was closed at 3pm would you be mildly annoyed?"

Yes, I probably would. Hopefully whatever I was intending to do could wait till tomorrow however. So I'd go to Sainsbury's instead and buy a chocolate Easter egg to cheer me up.

"If you went to the post box at 4.30 pm that says post will leave at 5pm would you be annoyed?"

No. Why should I be?

"If a client turns up on the last day with records and we get stuff completed are you saying we should not file due to that being a foolish thing to do on the last day."

If a client turned up on 31st March 2021 with his records for 31st March 2020, I'd simply answer that I would try and complete and file on time, but if I couldn't there would be a £150 penalty from Companies House (and the risk of a double penalty next year should this happen again).

I'd then work through it as best I could, file and go to bed. If it appeared on time, great, if it didn't then I wouldn't be in the slightest bit bothered.

I'm not sure you had any other questions than those three.

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By TessaW
01st Apr 2021 07:05

I filed accounts yesterday & had acceptance pending. Just checked & now showing as accepted (by VT) with the date and time of filing showing as yesterday - so all ok. No emails from Companies House for anything filed yesterday, whether shown as accepted yesterday or today.
Filed CT returns yesterday & got the emails fairly instantly but that was mid afternoon.

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By kenny achampong
01st Apr 2021 09:20

Well that wasted 2 hours of my life. I got numerous error messages about wrong periods, CT600 already sent etc. Spent a while on the phone to Tax Calc talking to a woman who was clearly not really listening and typing away, who came to the conclusion it was nothing to do with Tax Calc and the ONLY way to resolve it would be to call the CT office and get them to amend the periods, so one half hour call later, they decided they couldnt do anything to help and should call 'another number' (the same number I had called obviously). Half hour on hold and I gave up. Why have they made it so hard for us to do their tax collecting for them ? They can't even be bothered to pick up the phone, or send out tax bills anymore. And they charge us £100 if we fail to do their job for them in time!

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By Lucy N
01st Apr 2021 10:08

I filed a CT600 last night through Taxfiler and it is still polling this morning. I also filed accounts and they are showing as received at Companies House today. I emailed Companies House with a copy of the submission showing 31/03/21 to hopefully (fingers crossed) avoid a penalty. No idea what to do about the CT600 though!

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By lesley.barnes
01st Apr 2021 11:17

I've been having the same problems for a few days, Corporation Tax, Companies House, PAYE the works. This morning I can get onto Companies House and complete a confirmation statement - but I can't pay for it. Lloyds click safe doesn't seem to be working now. Its the time it takes keep going back checking and retrying, its all wasted time.

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By frankfx
01st Apr 2021 11:21

I am sending this thread to my MP.

For him to forward to Jim Harra.

And I expect Jim Harra to personally respond to my MP

600 plus personal not cut and paste replies may concentrate minds.

Awebers who have The prime minister or chancellor as MP, I urge you to send the thread to them.

The inefficiencies at CH and HMRCthis causes are enormous.

Never mind the time costs of placating and assuring clients.

Do not be fobbed off with Bumps in the road or local pothole excuses.

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Replying to frankfx:
By tonyaustin
07th Apr 2021 11:00

why not send directly to Jim Harrra, HM Revenue and Customs Executive Committee, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ?

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By jajo
01st Apr 2021 17:49

Had filing issues with both HMRC and Companies House yesterday. Companies House server issues started much earlier in the day, before midday and were intermittent.

As far as HMRC are concerned the system has completely broken down to the extent that you cant telephone them as you know it will likely take anywhere between 1 and 2 hours and most likely not result in the issue being resolved.

Writing to them seems utterly pointless due to the time it takes them to even open mail. Email, when you are lucky enough to have an email address largely goes unanswered. With systems failing so badly I can't really see that any penalties can be issued successfully. Surely all can be appealed on the basis that HMRC and to a lesser extent Companies House are no longer fit for purpose. Definitely requires are associations to start backing us up with representations on our behalf.

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Replying to jajo:
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By LW64
08th Apr 2021 09:35

I had an email to the department responsible for trade with Lithuania returned as 'inbox full' !

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