In J Brocklesby v HMRC [2020] UKFTT 498 (TC) (10 December 2020) the FTT held that the appellant had a reasonable excuse for the late filing because: (i) he could not file his return online for reasons outside his control (it transpired that he was no longer registered for online self-assessment services) which would not have been apparent until he tried to file his return (and there is no obligation to file returns early and it is not unreasonable for a taxpayer to believe that they will be able to continue to file online when they have been able to do so previously and not been advised otherwise by HMRC); and (ii) HMRC gave him incomplete advice when advising him to submit a paper return instead without informing him that doing so would mean he would incur a six-month late filing penalty and daily...
