HMRC has published version 1 of the 2018/19 self-assessment online filing exclusion. As in prior years, a return meeting the conditions for one of these exclusions cannot therefore be filed online and must be filed on paper instead.

Such returns should have the relevant exclusion number noted prominently thereon which should ensure that the return is diverted to the relevant HMRC specialist team that processes returns for these exclusion cases.

Returns which can only be filed on paper can avail of an extended paper filing deadline. The 2018/19 31 October 2019 paper filing deadline is extended to 31 January 2020 and should be accompanied by a reasonable excuse claim to avoid a penalty. Paper returns for an exclusion case filed after 31 January 2020 will face a late filing penalty.

Nine new exclusions (98–109 inclusive) have been added for 2018/19 and 18 exclusions have been removed (numbers 62, 70, 79, 80, 82–84 and 86–97). Agents and taxpayers are therefore advised to check if the exclusion used in 2017/18 still stands or if the circumstances of their client’s particular case meets the conditions for one of the new exclusions. The 2017/18 exclusions list is still available.