The benefits of filing your self-assessment during the festive season

The tax return deadline is at the end of January but acting sooner may be helpful

HMRC forms
HMRC is focusing on 'priority calls' to its self-assessment helpline so it may be harder to get help with your tax return this year
(Image credit: Getty Images/Peter Dazeley)

Millions of people are due to file a self-assessment tax return by the end of January.

The deadline to file your return and pay any tax due is 31 January, or you could face a fine starting from £100. But taxpayers are being warned to start early as it may be harder than usual to get help.

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Marc Shoffman is an NCTJ-qualified award-winning freelance journalist, specialising in business, property and personal finance. He has a BA in multimedia journalism from Bournemouth University and a master’s in financial journalism from City University, London. His career began at FT Business trade publication Financial Adviser, during the 2008 banking crash. In 2013, he moved to MailOnline’s personal finance section This is Money, where he covered topics ranging from mortgages and pensions to investments and even a bit of Bitcoin. Since going freelance in 2016, his work has appeared in MoneyWeek, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and on the i news site.