NORTH Yorkshire people who missed Saturday's deadline for the return of self-assessment tax forms will find £100 penalty notices on their doormats this month.

Offices in the region opened on Saturday to help people to beat the deadline to get forms in by midnight.

Across the country it is estimated about 1.3 million to 1.5 million are expected to face fines, but the Inland Revenue said today they would not be releasing figures until the middle of the week.

A spokeswoman for the Inland Revenue said: "There were a steady stream of visitors to offices round the country on Saturday and we are now collating the latest information."

Any applications found "on the mat" when tax offices opened today would be logged as having beaten the deadline, she said, but those people who have failed to complete a self-assessment form will have to pay a £100 penalty.

This is expected to raise a windfall totalling up to £150 million for the Treasury, despite the massive publicity campaign featuring Hector the Tax Inspector.

Not only will the taxpayers have to pay the fine, but they will also be charged interest at 9.5% on their outstanding tax bill and will face additional penalties if their return is not completed by July.

Peter Back, of self-assessment specialist of SimpliTax, said he was convinced that 1.5 million forms would be overdue. "The Revenue is likely to be very disappointed. This is going to present them with a lot of problems and they have got a lot of work to do," he added.

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