In this section:
New penalties were introduced in October 2011 and apply to all returns that are sent in late starting with the return due on or before 19 November 2011.
There may still be some cases where the old penalty rules apply - this is a brief reminder of what these are.
The basic penalty for a late return with 50 or fewer subcontractors on it was £100.
If the return had more than 50 subcontractors on it then the penalty went up by another £100 for each additional block of up to 50 subcontractors on the return.
| Number of subcontractors on the return | Automatic penalty for a late return (including 'nil' returns) | Additional penalty for each extra month late (continues up to 12 months) | Extra final penalty where a return is over 12 months late |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 50 | £100 | £100 | £3,000 |
| 51 - 100 | £200 | £200 | £3,000 |
| 101 - 150 | £300 | £300 | £3,000 |
| 151 - 200 | £400 | £400 | £3,000 |
The penalty keeps increasing with the number of subcontractors on the return. So if there were 500 subcontractors, for example, the late return penalty would have been £1,000 - and so on.
Returns with no subcontractors on them - nil returns - also get a £100 penalty if they were late.
HMRC charge these penalties for each month a return was late. So if a return with 50 subcontractors on it was two months late, for example, then the total penalty would be £200. If HMRC still hadn't received it after three months this would go up to £300 - and so on for up to 12 months.
If HMRC still haven't had a return after 12 months they add an extra final penalty charge of an amount up to £3,000.
