The Hamster Ate My Post

As per gov.uk every year, HMRC receives some imaginative excuses and expense claims following the 31 January Self Assessment deadline.

To wrap up the decade, and with 2 weeks to the deadline, HMRC has highlighted 10 of the most weird and wonderful excuses we have received from customers who missed the deadline over the last 10 years.

The top 10 most bizarre excuses and questionable expenses claims for items, in reverse order, are:

• caravan rental for the Easter weekend
• I was up a mountain in Wales, and couldn’t find a post box or get an internet signal
• my dog ate the post … again
• claiming £4.50 for sausage and chips meal expenses for 250 days
• my hamster ate my post
• I’ve been cruising round the world in my yacht, and only picking up post when I’m on dry land
• a music subscription so I can listen to music while I work
• pet food for a Shih Tzu ‘guard dog’
• a DJ was too busy with a party lifestyle – spinning the deck….in a bowls club
• my mother-in-law is a witch and put a curse on me

All the excuses and expenses listed above were unsuccessful.

Tax does have to be taxing.


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As the year end self assessment online tax deadline is almost upon us (that's tomorrow folks!), here are a list of reasonable excuses for tardiness as per HMRC:

Reasonable excuses

You can appeal against some penalties if you have a reasonable excuse, for example for your return or payment being late.

What may count as a reasonable excuse

A reasonable excuse is something that stopped you meeting a tax obligation that you took reasonable care to meet, for example:

• your partner or another close relative died shortly before the tax return or payment deadline
• you had an unexpected stay in hospital that prevented you from dealing with your tax affairs
• you had a serious or life-threatening illness
• your computer or software failed just before or while you were preparing your online return
• service issues with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online services
• a fire, flood or theft prevented you from completing your tax return
• postal delays that you couldn’t have predicted
• delays related to a disability you have

You must send your return or payment as soon as possible after your reasonable excuse is resolved.

What won’t count as a reasonable excuse

The following won’t be accepted as a reasonable excuse:

• you relied on someone else to send your return and they didn’t
• your cheque bounced or payment failed because you didn’t have enough money
• you found the HMRC online system too difficult to use
• you didn’t get a reminder from HMRC
• you made a mistake on your tax return

Tax does have to be taxing.

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HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"