Six groups of people handed HMRC warning over fines including delivery drivers and parents

Britons with side hustles such as selling online, along with delivery drivers and some parents have been warned they risk fines if they fail to follow self-assessment tax return rules. Personal finance experts say they are among six groups who may not know they need to file a tax return for the first time under HMRC rules.

As a result, they are being warned to check their position and register for tax self-assessment by the deadline tomorrow or risk potential fines and penalties, which could add up to £900. Those who may need to file a tax return for the first time include newly self-employed people, new landlords, new partners in business partnerships, those who earned more than £150,000 during the year, people affected by the high-income child benefit charge and those using online platforms to generate income.

Parents are required to fill in self-assessment tax return if either earns more than £60,000 in order to make sure that they pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge linked to receipt of child benefit. Details can be found while HMRC warns that a failure to register for self-assessment opens up the risk of a fine.

Financial advisers are particularly worried about gig economy workers, who include delivery drivers and people with so-called “side hustles” linked to selling online or renting out their home through Airbnb. The major online sales platforms, such as , Amazon, Vinted and Airbnb, are now required to report the trading activities of individual customers to the HMRC, which will allow the taxman to understand whether they should be paying tax on the resulting income.

HMRC will cross match the figures from the web platforms against the tax payments of Britons to understand if there are any discrepancies. Tax experts say anyone using online platforms to sell goods, arrange short-term property lets or secure private hire or food delivery work should ensure they accurately report their earnings and register for a tax return, if required.

Alastair Douglas, chief executive of TotallyMoney, said: "October 5 marks the self-assessment registration deadline, meaning you’ll need to notify HMRC if you’ve received income over the past year and haven’t yet paid tax on it. While you might think it only applies to work you’ve been paid for, it also includes other income.

"This might include money earned from savings and investments, rental income, and if you’ve made more than £1,000 from selling or reselling items on places like eBay, Depop, and Vinted. So check online to find out if you need a tax return. If you don’t register by the deadline, there’s an automatic £100 fine—even if there’s no tax due. If you haven’t paid that after three months, HMRC will charge you £10 per day up to £900, and after six months, 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is higher. This will repeat again after 12 months, so it’s important to stay on top of things from the start.”

Dawn Register, head of private client services at accountancy firm BDO, said: “It’s very important that if you are required to file for the first time that you meet the October 5 deadline to register with HMRC. Ignorance of the rules will not always be an acceptable excuse in HMRC’s eyes.”

Under regulations that came into effect on January 1, platforms such as Amazon, Airbnb, Deliveroo, eBay, Uber and Vinted are required to collect and report seller information and income to the UK tax authority. The first reports will be sent to HMRC by the platforms in January 2025.

Platforms will not be required to report the details of those using their sites or apps who make 30 or fewer sales a year and sell items for less than a total of €2,000 (approximately £1,700). The rules which are part of an international reform agreed in 2020, came into force in a number of countries this year, and will mean data is shared internationally between tax authorities.

Experts at the Low Income Tax Reform Group, a charity, accused HMRC of not doing enough to make online sellers aware of the fact they may need to file a tax return and pay tax on their online trading income. They called on HMRC to avoid a repeat of what happened earlier this year when reports of the new reporting rules caused widespread confusion and the misconception that a new “side-hustle” tax had been introduced.

Claire Thackaberry, LITRG technical officer, said time was “running out for HMRC to defuse this ticking time bomb”. She told the FT: “The information that HMRC will receive from platforms will be presented by calendar year, therefore covering more than one tax year.

“This could make it more difficult to work out when tax is due. Many people will turn to HMRC for help. However, January is an extremely busy time for HMRC ahead of the self-assessment tax return deadline and this will make it harder to speak with someone.”

She urged HMRC to work with platforms and online sellers to help people understand and meet their tax obligations in time. HMRC described LITRG’s points as “scaremongering”. It added: “For people selling personal possessions online absolutely nothing has changed, so it’s deeply disappointing to see this scaremongering from LITRG.

“We’ve recently published and promoted guidance for online sellers and we run an extensive self assessment campaign every year, which reminds people to check if they need to file a tax return.”

The deadline for telling HMRC you need to file a tax return for the 2023-24 is October 5. Paper returns must be filed by October 31 and the deadline for submitting an online return is midnight on January 31 2025.