40% increase as online self assessment filing hits new record

A hundred and fifty thousand self assessment returns were received in the 24 hours running up to Wednesday's midnight deadline. During the filing peak the HM Revenue & Customs website was processing more than six thousand returns each hour – more than a hundred every minute, almost two per second – as almost 2.9 million (2,895,482) people chose to file their returns online this year.

Paul Gray, Acting Chairman of HMRC, said:

“This is a 40% increase on last year's online filing figures – showing that the public have realised the benefits of doing their returns online.

“Not only is it a secure, quick and convenient way to file but you get an immediate acknowledgement and faster repayment if we owe you money. If you file online your tax is automatically calculated. Other benefits to the online service are that customers can view their liabilities and payments in an online Statement of Account and they can choose to receive reminders by secure email or text messages.

“This huge growth in online filing shows that our customers are welcoming the accessibility and reliability of our online services. All the work we have undertaken to increase the capacity and robustness of our IT systems has paid off.

“Over the past year we have also responded to customers’ feedback to develop online services still further. This has resulted in the introduction on a new online attachments service, which allows agents to submit supporting information with the returns they file on behalf of their clients.”

The total number of self assessment returns both on paper and electronically will not be known for several weeks, as paper returns are logged manually.

Notes to editors

1. Over 9 million returns were issued in 2006/07
2. Historical online filing stats:

*2004-1,079,298

*2005-1,599,364

*2006-1,989,927

Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office.