Extra 24 hours for tax details

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has allowed an extra 24 hours for people to submit their self-assessment forms after its website suffered technical problems.

The HRMC posted a message on its website today stating that the site was "currently unavailable" and "we apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause."

The technical problem caused such disruption that HRMC was forced to grant an extra 24 hours for anyone filing their tax returns.

The crash of the website came on the busiest day of the year as thousands of people tried to declare their taxes.

A spokesman for Revenue and Customs said: "HMRC's self-assessment online filling service has experienced technical difficulties this morning which has meant that some tax payers have experienced difficulties filing online.

"HMRC takes any disruption of service very seriously and to reflect this no-one who files electronically or by paper by midnight Friday February 1st will face a penalty."

People who fail to declare their tax by midnight on Friday will receive a £100 penalty and an interest charge of five per cent on tax owed.