The 10 most amusing late tax return excuses

It’s January again which means two things –

1. Giving up everything remotely enjoyable and embarking on an extreme exercise regime until around the middle of the month then reverting to old habits.

2. Worrying about the tax return that you haven’t filed yet.

If you are in the second category you’re not alone, around 10 million people were issued with tax returns in 2012/13 and if last year is anything to go by about 750,000 people will not have submitted their returns by the deadline on the 31st, thereby incurring an automatic £100 fine. It is possible to appeal the penalty but the chances of success are very slim. HMRC recently released their 10 most amusing excuses for late filing, none were successful…

1. My pet goldfish died (self-employed builder)
2. I had a run-in with a cow (Midlands farmer)
3. After seeing a volcanic eruption on the news, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else (London woman)
4. My wife won’t give me my mail (self-employed trader)
5. My husband told me the deadline was 31 March, and I believed him (Leicester hairdresser)
6. I’ve been far too busy touring the country with my one-man play (Coventry writer)
7. My bad back means I can’t go upstairs. That’s where my tax return is (a working taxi driver)
8. I’ve been cruising round the world in my yacht, and only picking up post when I’m on dry land (South East man)
9. Our business doesn’t really do anything (Kent financial services firm)
10. I’ve been too busy submitting my clients’ tax returns (London accountant)