People spend the festive season in a variety of different ways, but far too many of them seem to spend the time submitting their self-assessment tax returns.
While it is understandable that not everyone in the country is huddled around a turkey on Christmas Day, the annual influx of festive filings speaks to a greater issue with how people approach their personal tax obligations.
As this is the first year of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, there may be hope that self-assessment stress may soon be a thing of the past.
Why are last-minute tax returns so common?
There is a surprisingly generous window between when you can file your self-assessment tax return and when you have to.
These tax returns can be filed any time after the end of the tax year, but need to be filed before 31 January.
While generous in affording people plenty of scope to submit tax returns ahead of the deadline, the sheer amount of time causes people to forget about doing it and keep putting it off instead.
This results in an annual tradition of tens of thousands of people submitting their tax returns over the festive period.
Christmas time 2025 saw 37,435 people file their tax returns between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
While significant, the number is down slightly from the previous year’s 40,072, suggesting more people elected to spend time with loved ones or scoffing mince pies than filing tax returns.
Even that Christmas rush is not sufficient for getting everyone over the line, as January began with 5.65 million people still needing to submit their tax returns.
Given this chaotic annual tradition, it is clear something needs to change.
Will MTD solve the self-assessment tax return scramble?
For sole traders, landlords and self-employed individuals with incomes over £50,000, April 2026 will see MTD become mandatory.
The threshold drops to £30,000 in 2027 and £20,000 in 2028, so more people will be pulled in over time.
MTD necessitates quarterly filings alongside an annual filing, all of which will be managed through digital accounting and compliant software.
It is hoped that by having a continuous view of your finances and tax obligations that deadlines no longer loom unseen in the distance.
From 2027, there will also be penalties for missing the deadlines, so it is worth getting familiar with MTD this year before that sets in.
While it is likely that people may still leave tax filings until the deadline has nearly passed, there is a hope that it will be less disastrous if those filings are easier.
Even if you are not set to be pulled into MTD anytime soon, we believe this can be the year that you get more efficient with tax filings.
Completing your self-assessment tax return as close to the end of the tax year as possible gives you more time to spread the cost of your tax bill, resulting in more manageable payments.
Whether you are looking to prepare for MTD or just keep up with your self-assessment tax return, our team is ready to help.
Speak to our team today to take the stress out of self-assessment tax returns.
